This is a very interesting mixed exhibit amidst a lake at the zoo, that during my visit in 2008 housed:
Tayras (Eira barbara)
Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella)
South American Coatis (Nasua nasua)
The keepers reach the island by means of a boat. It seemed to work pretty well with this combination of animals, and was very interesting to see how the animals interacted with each other, especially during feeding time. See also other pictures.
The coatis in this exhibit had a darker fur than that of other Nasua nasua, which made me think they might be a hybrid between Nasua nasua and Nasua narica (white-nosed Coatis).
Hi Animal, as far as I remember there were quite a few young Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella) hanging to their mother's belly and back, and also a couple of young Coatis (Nasua nasua) running around.
I also didn't expect births and raising of young to be possible in this exhibit, because of the combination with carnivores and the more or less equal size of the animals. I assume the monkeys are rude enough and thus can protect themselves. As the coatis are in a group they might just be able to do the same.
Also, you can see the trees aren't very suitable for the Tayras (Eira barbara) to climb (too vertical), and perhaps not even for the coatis (Nasua nasua). So, it's possible the monkeys stay at the very top of the trees.
I also think that when the animals are being well fed, there might be less temptation for the animals to prey on each other.
Be that as it may, it is still a very interesting mixed exhibit I have never seen before!
When i visited parque de las leyendas a tayra was on a moated exhibit in the Selva section,but none on the island shown here.Maybe the tayra was not a permanent resident.Coatis and capuchins were together on la isla.Buenos Aires zoo also has capuchins and coatis together in a very similar exhibit.
