Meet Patty the Takin, the Newest Addition at Mesker Park Zoo

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden announced a new addition on Thursday with the arrival of Patty the Takin.

What is a Takin?

I think it kind of looks like what would happen if you crossed a dairy cow with a mountain goat due to its size and features. According to Britannica, it is a member of the Bovidae family, which is classified as any hooved animal including cattle. So, I guess I'm kind of half-right. They're native to Asia and can be found in the mountain areas of China, Tibet, and India. They are also one of the world's rarest species.

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Patty (pictured above) is a four-year-old Sichuan Takin, according to the post announcing her arrival on the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden Facebook page which means she and others like her hail from eastern Tibet. Takin can grow to be as much as 770 pounds (!!!) and both the males and females feature horns on top of their heads that grow outward and eventually curve backward.

Mesker Park Zoon Introduces Patty to the Tri-State

Officials with the zoo said they received Patty from the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend and was recently introduced to the two other Takin they have on their property, Xing Fu and Dawa.

Patty's exhibit mates, Xing Fu and Dawa. (Amy Augustine, Zookeeper / Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden)

I exchanged Facebook messages with a representative from Mesker Park Zoo who said Patty is getting along great with her new ~~room~~ exhibit mates and is a "very curious gal." They say she will often stare at the tiger in the nearby exhibit for hours on end, and anytime her keepers are around, she wants to be near them and figure out what they're doing on the other side of the fence and barn near the exhibit.

Next time you take a trip to Mesker Park Zoo, you'll find Patty, Xing Fu, and Dawa in the Asia loop, so be sure to stop by and say hello.

[Source: Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden on Facebook]

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