Alpaca

Long ago, alpaca had a very wide range of habitat in South America that began to shrink with the arrival of explorers. Alpacas can come in up to 22 colors. A dominant male alpaca will have a group of up to 10 females and breeding will occur once a year with 1 calf being born. Alpacas have been domesticated and are popular on farms for their fur, which is sheered similar to sheep. You can see our Alpaca in Critter Encounters.

African-Crested Porcupine

African crested porcupines are the largest porcupine in the world and the third largest rodent. Despite popular belief, no porcupine can shoot their quills. If they feel threatened they will raise their quills to seem larger, as well as stamp their feet, click their teeth, and rattle their quills. If all of that fails the porcupine will run backward and ram their attacker with their quills. Porcupines form monogamous pairs, meaning they breed together for long periods of time. Females will have 1-3 offspring called porcupettes who only stay with the mother for a few months.

Baird's Tapir

 

Baird’s tapirs are one of four species of tapirs. Three species live in Central and South America and one species lives in Asia. The upper lip of the tapir forms a proboscis similar to an elephant’s trunk. This is used to help them collect their food as they browse. Tapirs are born brown with white stripes and spots to help with camouflage and turn solid brown with age. Tapirs will poop in nearby bodies of water to hide their scent from predators. You can see our tapirs along the Jungle Loop.

 

Belted Galloway

 

Belted galloway were first brought to the US in the 1930s. Belted galloway are known to grow larger and produce more milk than other breeds and can sustain colder climates on marginal grasslands. They are also known for their high quality beef. The origin of the coloration is unknown but the white belt can vary in width. Belted galloway will grow a shaggy coat in the winter.

Bontebok

The bontebok was nearly extinct in the wild but the creation of Bontebok National Park and breeding on game farms led to the current population of over 2,000 existing throughout southern Africa. Their current conservation status includes the closely related blesbok of which 250,000 exist. They graze during the day on grasses in small groups of about 10. Males will mark their territory with dung and participate in challenge rituals with neighboring males. Both males and females will grow horns. You can see our bontebok on the African Plains.

Clouded Leopard

Clouded leopards are the top predators in their range and help control populations of prey species. They are solitary hunters active largely at night. Similar to other leopards they are great climbers and can usually be found in trees which they use to hunt and as resting places. Little is known about their breeding behavior but it is thought that they can mate year round. You can visit our clouded leopards on the Bamboo Trail.
 

Cotswold Sheep

 

Cotswold sheep are long wooled that are adapted to areas with high rainfall and abundant food. They are considered a long wool breed because they can grow 10-12 inches of wool per year, that equals 15 pounds of wool each sheep can grow per year. This curly white wool is popular with handspinners who turn the wool into thread. Cotswold sheep are a heritage breed with less than 5000 remaining in the world.

You can visit our sheep at the Historic Farm.

Eland

Eland are one of the largest hooved animals in the world. They are very adaptable animals with the ability to live in all environments except deserts, forests, and swamps. They are some of the slowest antelope, running only 25 miles per hour. Eland will live in herds of up to 25. There may be more than one male but only the dominant male will have access to females for breeding. Calves are born after a 9 month gestation period and hide after they are born for protection. You can see our eland on the African Plains.

Goats

 

Goats began to be domesticated for agricultural purposes more than 10,000 years ago. They are used for a variety of purposes including their milk, meat, and hair depending on the breed. Females called does often give birth to twins and can have up to 4 kids at a time. Similar to several other hooved animals, goats have a 4-chambered ruminating stomach. This works by the goat eating food, which spends time in the stomach, and then is regurgitated to be chewed again. This helps to produce very little waste and allows goats to get all of the nutrition possible out of their diet. Despite popular culture goats will not eat everything, they are actually quite picky. However goats are extremely curious and will chew on new things to help figure out what they are.

You can see several breeds of goat including: Nigerian Dwarf, African Pygmy, Alpine, La Mancha, Toggenburg, and Nubian goats in the Zoo's Critter Encounter area.

Giraffe

There are at least six different types of giraffes. You can see one here at Nashville Zoo: Congo, Margarita, Enzi, and Nyla are Masai giraffes. Giraffes are the tallest of all land mammals. Giraffes have a neck that is 6 feet long and weighs 600 pounds. Their heart is 2 feet long and weighs 25 pounds. They eat about 75 pounds of food each day which they gather with their 18 inch long tongue. Due to this massive size giraffes do not really need to hide from predators, they do need to be worried about lions, but giraffes have a powerful kick that they will use to defend themselves. You can find our giraffes on the African Savannah.

Meerkat

Meerkats are small mammals related to the mongoose. They live in underground burrows with up to 40 meerkats in groups called mobs. This large social group is key to the meerkats survival. You will see at least one individual on “sentry duty” looking out for predators while others will spend time grooming and playing together to maintain their tight bond. Meerkats are made for digging and can excavate huge burrow systems with many different rooms that provide protection from predators. These burrows can have 15 entrances and they stay a constant cool temperature even in the hot African sun. Be on the lookout for our meerkats near Zoo Central.

Red Kangaroo

Red kangaroos are the largest marsupials and the largest mammals in Australia. Females use their pouch to carry a baby called a joey that is born after about 30 days. The joey will permanently leave the pouch after about 235 days. These plant eaters can go for long periods of time without drinking water by eating moisture filled succulent plants. Kangaroos in Australia can be seen in large groups called mobs. They can run 40 miles per hour, jump 30 feet long, and 10 feet high. You can see our kangaroos at Kangaroo Kickabout.

Red Panda

The red pandas were once thought to be relatives of raccoons and bears but research has now put them in their own animal family Ailuridae. Red pandas are solitary and they rarely interact with another red panda outside of mating season. Breeding season is in the early winter with most births being in June. Similarly to their giant panda relatives red pandas have a wrist bone that acts like a thumb to help them grip bamboo. You can see our red pandas on Bamboo Trail.
 

Red River Hog

Red river hogs are very social animals who will live in groups of up to 20. Groups are usually made up of 1 adult male, several females, and their piglets. They are mostly active once the sun sets where they will use their shovel like snouts to dig up roots or bulbs to eat, though red river hogs will eat most anything they find. Female hogs will give birth to about 1-4 piglets. Male offspring are forced out of their group at about one year of age. Male red river hogs will fight by butting heads, whipping each other with their tails, and will fluff their facial hair when threatened. You can see our red river hogs on the African Savannah.

Red Ruffed Lemur

Red-ruffed lemurs are 1 of more than 100 species of lemurs on the island of Madagascar. Lemurs are not monkeys but a type of primate called a prosimian. Red-ruffed lemurs will spend most of their day in the canopies of forests and they play an important role in pollination in their habitat. Red-ruffed lemurs are very vocal, with the ability to make more than 12 separate calls. These are used to warn others of predators, keep the group together while foraging, or to warn others that a space is already occupied. Listen for our red-ruffed lemurs Lyra and Larry on the Bamboo Trail.
 

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Ring-tailed lemurs live in southern areas of Madagascar in social groups of up to 25 members. These are mixed groups with males and females. Female ring-tailed lemurs are always dominant over males and there is one dominant female in each group. When the group travels together they will raise their long ringed tails to act as flags to locate other members of the group. They will mark their territory by rubbing their scent glands on trees. Breeding usually takes place between April-June with babies being born August-September. Females will usually have 1-2 offspring. You can see our ring-tailed lemurs along the Bamboo Trail.
 

Siamang

Commonly mistaken for monkeys, siamangs are actually the largest of the lesser ape species. Like all apes, they lack tails and have the ability to move bipedially on their back legs only. Siamangs spend most of their day in trees moving through a process called brachiation meaning they move from tree to tree using only their arms. Siamangs live in a family group consisting a breeding pair and their offspring. Females will give birth every 2-3 years. Siamangs have an enlarged throat sac which can swell to the size of their head to amplify their vocalizations you can hear throughout the zoo!
 

Two-Toed Sloth

Two-toed sloths are animals of extremes. They sleep 15-20 hours a day, climb 6-8 feet per minute, take 1 month to digest food, use the bathroom every 4-8 days, and have one of the lowest body temperatures of any mammal ranging from 74-92 degrees depending on their environment. Little is known about sloth reproduction but babies begin to eat solid food at 1 month old and will become independent at about 9 months old. They reach full size at 2-3 years of age. Sloths have poor sight and hearing but a great sense of smell.
 

White-Cheeked Gibbon

Gibbons are not monkeys, but are considered lesser apes due in part to their lack of a tail and ability to walk bipedally on their back legs. Gibbons move through the trees by a process called brachiation which involves swinging using only their arms. Gibbons live in a family unit of an adult male and female and their offspring. The adult female is the dominant member of the group. White-cheeked gibbons are born blonde to camouflage with their mother and then turn black as juveniles. Females finally turn back to a blonde color at sexual maturity while the males stay black. You can see our gibbons on Gibbon Island near Entry Village.
 

Zebra

Zebras are members of the equid family which includes horses and donkeys. They are largely grazers and eat the tops of grasses were they live. Each zebra has a different pattern of stripes on their coat. This is called disruptive camouflage. The main predator of zebra are lions who like to hunt for zebra as the sun goes down. Zebra’s stripes help them to blend into tall grasses where they live and confuse the lions. Zebra live in large herds and their stripes make it hard for lions to track a zebra to hunt for a meal when following a large herd. They also have other defenses against predators including great hearing and eyesight, a top speed of 35 miles per hour, and a kick that can seriously injure a predator. Zebra can give birth anytime during the year and will usually give birth to one foal which stays with their mother for up to 3 years. You can see our zebra on African Plains.