Zoo Boise is excited to announce two recent births at the zoo. A giant elephant shrew baby was born on March 5th and has recently started to venture from its nest. The gender of the baby is currently unknown until its first veterinary exam within the next few weeks. The baby was born to parents Polaris and Havok.
Giant elephant shrews, also called sengis, are a small African mammal about the size of a rat with a long, flexible snout that looks similar to an elephant trunk. Native to eastern Africa, giant elephant shrews live in forests and use their long snouts to forage for insects, fruits and seeds.
In addition, there is a new wallaby joey at the zoo. The female joey has recently made her appearance in the zoo’s Wallaby Walkabout exhibit. The joey was born to parents Kaiya and Bondi. The joey is approximately 9 months old and is still spending some time inside her mother’s pouch. The Wallaby Walkabout currently features seven Bennett’s wallabies; four adult females, two males and the joey. Wallabies are small marsupials from Australia and related to kangaroos.
Zoo Boise invites the community to Keep Your World Wild; the zoo turns the act of visiting the zoo into a conservation action. In the last eight years, visits to Zoo Boise have generated nearly $2 million towards the conservation of animals in the wild, redefining why we have a zoo. Zoo Boise is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, a national organization that supports excellence in animal care, conservation, education and science.