The Chattanooga Zoo has announced the arrival of three new ambassador animals: two serval kittens and a prehensile-tailed porcupine.
The six-week old servals are currently being hand raised by zoo staff to be trained as ambassador animals. As ambassador animals, they won’t be on exhibit but will have extensive public interaction through education programs, animal shows, media appearances, and more. The Chattanooga Zoo currently has one female adult serval exhibited in the Gombe Forest exhibit area.
The serval kittens were born at the Idaho Falls Zoo, and came to the Chattanooga Zoo on April 27 through collaboration with the Species Survival Plan (SSP). The serval is an African medium-sized cat. Life expectancy is 10 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in captivity.
The one year old prehensile-tailed porcupine, along with the serval kittens, is also a new zoo ambassador animal. However, the porcupine will be exhibited when not being used for programming in the Corcovado Jungle exhibit building.
Again through collaboration with the SSP, the porcupine came to the Chattanooga Zoo from the Cleveland Zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. These South American native porcupines can live up to 27 years in captivity.
The Chattanooga Zoo will soon be offering WILD encounters for both the serval kittens and the prehensile tailed porcupine. For more information on the Zoo’s WILD encounter program, visit www.chattzoo.org/visit/wild-encounters.
Source: Chattanooga Zoo
T
he Chattanooga Zoo has announced the arrival of three new ambassador animals: two serval kittens and a prehensile-tailed porcupine.
The six-week old servals are currently being hand raised by zoo staff to be trained as ambassador animals. As ambassador animals, they won’t be on exhibit but will have extensive public interaction through education programs, animal shows, media appearances, and more. The Chattanooga Zoo currently has one female adult serval exhibited in the Gombe Forest exhibit area.
The serval kittens were born at the Idaho Falls Zoo, and came to the Chattanooga Zoo on April 27 through collaboration with the Species Survival Plan (SSP). The serval is an African medium-sized cat. Life expectancy is 10 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in captivity.
The one year old prehensile-tailed porcupine, along with the serval kittens, is also a new zoo ambassador animal. However, the porcupine will be exhibited when not being used for programming in the Corcovado Jungle exhibit building.
Again through collaboration with the SSP, the porcupine came to the Chattanooga Zoo from the Cleveland Zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. These South American native porcupines can live up to 27 years in captivity.
The Chattanooga Zoo will soon be offering WILD encounters for both the serval kittens and the prehensile tailed porcupine. For more information on the Zoo’s WILD encounter program, visit www.chattzoo.org/visit/wild-encounters.
Source: Chattanooga Zoo v