Maras are long-legged rodents with short gray fur, long ears and a short tail. They have four toes on the front feet, three on the back, with a strong claw on each toe. As they are rodents, their teeth grow continuously in response to their constant grazing. Well-developed vision, hearing and sense of smell allows for early predator detection in open areas.
Maras are monogamous for life and travel in mated pairs. They are built for running with powerful hind legs and can run up to 28 mph. They use stotting to escape from predators, a behavior also seen in gazelles where they spring vertically in the air up to four feet off the ground.
Patagonian Mara at the Akron Zoo
You can find our Patagonian mara in Legends of the Wild next to the jaguar habitat.
- Bonita - female, born May 2017
- Bettina - female, born May 2017
Bonita and Bettina are sisters. They were born at Alexandria Zoological Park in Louisiana but moved to the Toledo Zoo in 2019.