New baby coatis, penguin arrive at Zoo Boise

The zoo’s two female white-nosed coatis gave birth to a combined six kits May 10, and a Magellanic penguin chick hatched May 16, Zoo Boise officials announced Thursday.

Coatis are small mammals native to Central and South America that are related to raccoons. Zoo Boise’s adult coatis — two females and one male — were matched here as part of a breeding program for endangered or threatened species.

The kits include four males and two females. They’ll spent about five weeks in their dens, but their mothers may occasionally take them out into the part of their exhibit visible to the public.

You’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the penguin chick, the first born to parents Tuffy and Bocelli. It will stay in its den for the first few weeks, then spend time in the zoo’s Animal Health Complex learning to swim. Zoo Boise plans to post updates and photos to its Facebook page until the chick joins the larger penguin colony this summer.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 11:15 AM with the headline "New baby coatis, penguin arrive at Zoo Boise."