Twin Pine Conservation Institute

05/12/2026

Fresh from the field to tiny hands 🍓
Rose, our red ruffed lemur, enjoying a freshly picked strawberry from Breland Strawberry Fields
Red ruffed lemurs are native to the rainforests of Madagascar and play an important role as seed dispersers, helping forests regenerate naturally as they travel and feed.
🍓Safe to say this strawberry passed the quality test🐾

05/12/2026

White-nosed coatimundis can rotate their ankles nearly 180 degrees, allowing them to climb down trees headfirst with ease - a rare adaptation that helps them move quickly through the forest canopy while searching for food. Their long flexible noses are packed with scent receptors and are constantly in motion as they investigate the world around them.

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day!

05/09/2026

New introductions are always an exciting and carefully monitored step in AARDWOLF management.

We began introductions between members of our aardwolf group as part of our ongoing conservation breeding and husbandry program. Every interaction is closely observed, from body language and vocalizations to scent marking and den behavior, helping us better understand this rarely studied species in human care.

Aardwolves are one of the least represented carnivores in managed populations worldwide, and each successful pairing contributes valuable behavioral and reproductive knowledge that help support the future of the species in ex situ conservation programs.
Watching these animals communicate and slowly build confidence around one another is a reminder of how complex and specialized aardwolves truly are.

05/09/2026

Meet Pico, one of our incredible residents here at TPCI.
Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, native to South America, and are highly social animals that thrive in groups. Despite their size, they’re known for their calm personalities and strong bonds with both their own kind and other species.
We believe conservation starts with connection. Every species has a story worth protecting.

05/09/2026

Named after Tony Bennett… or as we jokingly call him, “Tony Genet” ~ he has become one of the most recognizable members of our genet program.
➡️ When highly alert, excited, stimulated, or investigating something interesting, they will often puff up their tail and raise the fur along their back.
This helps them appear larger and serves as an important form of communication.

➡️The TPCI Genetta Conservation Initiative is focused on improving scientific understanding of captive genets through genetics research, lineage documentation, morphology comparisons, and long-term population management planning. Despite their diversity across Africa, many genet species remain poorly studied in zoological collections worldwide.

🐾Every individual helps us better understand these remarkable and often overlooked small carnivores.

Twin Pine Conservation Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to wildlife conservancy, habitat preservation, and environmental education. Support our mission today.

05/03/2026

Hand-rearing aardwolf neonates requires precision, experience, and purpose. Each step directly informs the work of the TPCI Aardwolf Conservation Initiative and strengthens long-term population management.

05/01/2026

Twin Pine Farm & Exotics Conservation Foundation is now:
Twin Pine Conservation Institute.

🌏This name change reflects the continued growth of our organization and a clearer alignment with our focus on conservation science, species management, and institutional collaboration.
🦩Our mission remains unchanged: advancing conservation through science, stewardship, and collaboration.

📋As Twin Pine Conservation Institute, we will continue to expand our work in small carnivore conservation, including leadership of the ZAA Aardwolf Animal Management Program (AMP), development of the Genetta Conservation Initiative, and ongoing partnerships with zoological institutions.

🤝We appreciate the continued support of our colleagues and partners as we move forward under a name that more accurately represents our work and long-term vision.

04/26/2026

At first glance, you might think this is a kitten… but look again.

This is a pardine genet (Genetta pardina)
>A small, elusive African carnivore that most people have never even heard of.

With their striking spots, long ringed tails, and incredible agility, genets move through their environment like shadows
~silent, precise, and highly effective hunters. They climb with ease, hunt with accuracy, and play a critical role in keeping ecosystems balanced.

But here’s the reality:
Species like this are often overlooked. Not because they aren’t important…but because they aren’t well known.

At TPFECF, we’re working to change that.

Our Genetta Conservation Initiative is focused on bringing attention, research, and long-term conservation planning to these underrepresented small carnivores, many of which still have major gaps in scientific understanding.

Because conservation shouldn’t just focus on the famous species…
it should protect the ones people don’t even realize exist.

04/13/2026

The TPFECF Aardwolf Conservation Initiative is honored to have contributed to a newly published study in the Journal of Heredity led by researchers at Texas A&M University.

This publication represents the first detailed chromosome-level study of the aardwolf (Proteles cristatus), helping researchers better understand the species’ genetics, evolutionary history, and future conservation needs.

The study found several unique chromosome features that distinguish the aardwolf from other hyena species and provides the foundation for future DNA and subspecies analysis.

The TPFECF Aardwolf Conservation Initiative & TPFECF were formally acknowledged in the publication for providing the aardwolf sample used in the research.

This is an important milestone not only for our program, but for the future scientific understanding and conservation of one of the world’s least-studied carnivores.

Publication linked in the comments.

04/13/2026

Tiny paws. Big instincts.

Even at a young age, genets display many of the same behaviors they will rely on as adults including strong climbing ability, curiosity, and a natural tendency to investigate their surroundings.
Their large eyes and ears are specially adapted for life as nocturnal predators, helping them navigate and hunt in low light.
Understanding these early developmental stages is an important part of responsible small carnivore management and helps support the long-term conservation of these unique species.