Tyrion is a male 5-year old degu.   He is one of 70 different wildlife species living behind the scenes at the Zoo as part of our Education Animal collection.  Education animals are featured in up close and personal animal encounters where staff and volunteers tell their stories during informal programs in the Wildlife Amphitheater (weekends at 1:30pm) and as part of formal curriculum programs for school groups on field trips.  

Degus live in colonies in semi-arid shrub environments on the Western Slopes of the rugged Andes Mountains in Chile.  They are often found in open areas and during the spring and summer and will have 4-6 babies. Degus are diurnal (active during the day) and social.  

Our degu loves to be scratched and his keepers often let him roll down the hallway in an exercise ball.  He is very curious and oftentimes will roll into my office.  Never underestimate the intelligence of any animal.  For example, researchers in Japan discovered that degus can learn to use tools. In one study a degu learned to use a tiny rake to retrieve out-of-reach sunflower seed rewards.

In the wild they degu eat grasses, foliage and seeds, and store food in their burrows during the winter.

Rick LoBello
Education Curator

Photos
Rick LoBello, El Paso Zoo
Cover – Mariano Mantel, Wikimedia Creative Commons