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Zoo Krefeld Keepers Raise a Baby Agouti

1 agouti

In early March, Zoo Krefeld in Germany welcomed a litter of two Agoutis! Normally they would have liked to see the mother raise both babies, but she was not able to provide  enough milk for both. One baby has stayed with mom and the other is bend hand-fed a milk-replacer for kittens.  

At first, the hand-raised Agouti, named Flo, had to be fed every two hours, even at night. The baby has been gaining about .07 to .1 ounces (2-3 g) per day, and at three weeks old tipped the scale at 4.6 ounces (130 g). 

2 agouti

3 agouti

4 agoutiPhoto credit: Zoo Krefeld / Andreas M. Bischof (1, 2)

Agoutis are rodents that live in the rainforests of South America. They are nocturnal and usually live in pairs on the forest floor. They cache extra food, such as nuts and seeds, in holes in the ground which they often forget about. This makes them important seed dispersers for trees.  

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