My first encounter was with Bebeto, a prehensile-tailed porcupine. Covered in white spikes, with a large, bulbous nose and a long, smooth tail, Bebeto looked like an Adult Swim character that had strutted off the screen and onto a table in the center of the room. Bebeto ate thick slices of sweet potato while animal specialist Sarena filled me in on the dietary habits, the quirks, the activities and the behavior of this slow-moving climber, whose natural habitat is Central and South America.