My young daughter loves the zoo. We have been fortunate to travel to the Bronx Zoo, the Brookfield Zoo (see my blog: “Day Trip: Brookfield Zoo“), the Honolulu Zoo and other local zoos across the country. So imagine my surprise when I came across an ad for the Knoxville Zoo’s newest attraction. No, not a ferocious lion, or a unique red panda or a new dolphin exhibit, rather: “Naturally Naked Mole-Rats.”
They are described as having “wrinkled, hot dog-shaped bodies” and are attracting thousands of spectators, especially kids who are mesmerized by the animal’s activities. The mole-rats are displayed in a series of clear tubes and boxes. According to the ad, the crowd’s fascination peaks when the animals enter the small clear tubes and try to change direction. The zoo’s curator says “the animal nearly somersaults over itself and pokes out its head on the other side. It shows off four big teeth, sniffs the air and turns around again.” And if you missed it the first time don’t worry; zoo keepers say the animals repeat the movements over and over again. It’s the nonstop movement that’s making the mole-rats one of the zoo’s most popular exhibits.
Mole-rats are natives of Africa, and despite their name they are neither moles nor rats. They are more closely related to chinchillas and guinea pigs. They get their “naked” status by having little-to-no-hair. They are about 3 to 4 inches long, have wrinkly skin and walrus-like teeth. If you have children who are fans of the Disney cartoon “Kim Possible” you may have heard of the naked mole-rat. The show features “Rufus,” a naked mole-rat who likes to eat nachos.
The Knoxville Zoo’s mole-rat exhibit opened two weeks ago and is one of only a handful of zoos across the country with the strange creatures on display. So where else can you catch these critters in action? The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and zoos in Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.