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• Asia Trail Conservation and Science
• Asian Species Facts
• Watch and Listen to Asia Trail Animals
• Send an E-Card
• Meet an Asia Trail Keeper
• Photo Gallery
• Asia Trail Animal Cams
• Asia Trail for Kids

Asia Trail, a series of exhibits that opened in 2006, is home to seven Asian species: sloth bears, fishing cats, red pandas, clouded leopards, Asian small-clawed otters, a Japanese giant salamander, and giant pandas.

See a map of Asia Trail, read about the animal habitats, and learn about Asia Trail's green elements.

Send an Asia Trail e-card.

Red Panda Cubs at Zoo Are Named, See New Photos

Thunder, lightning, and strong winds greeted the National Zoo’s two female red panda cubs when they were born June 17, and that stormy night has now determined their names. The name Pili, which means “clap of thunder” in Chinese, was the winner of a public vote. A Zoo supporter named Pili’s twin sister Damini, which is Nepalese for “lightning.” When the cubs were weighed on September 28, Damini weighed 3.5 pounds and Pili weighed 2.9 pounds. The two cubs at the Zoo's Front Royal, Virginia, campus are also thriving and are now eating solids.

Read more about and see new photos of the cubs at the Zoo and at the Zoo's Front Royal, Virginia, campus.
Adopt a red panda.

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Asia Trail Photo Gallery | Help with cam

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The animal(s) in this enclosure may have moved out of view.

Watching Sloth Bears: One adult male and two adult female sloth bears live at the Zoo. You may see the bears climbing, foraging for insects, or sleeping. Native to India, Sri Lanka, and southern Nepal, sloth bears carry young on their backs.
Sloth Bear Facts

Otter Pair Arrives at the Zoo

A breeding pair of Asian small-clawed otters recently debuted at Asia Trail, and their keepers are optimistic about a growing otter family. The female, Smidge, is very food motivated and responsive to keepers. The male, Mac, is a bit more shy. Read all about them and see photos.

Asia Trail features a species that has not been at the Zoo in decades: clouded leopards, which Zoo scientists breed at our Conservation and Research Center and study in Thailand.

Asia Trail provides so much for so many:

• state-of-the-art exhibits with a stimulating environment,
• a comprehensive education program for visitors, students, and teachers, and
• the expertise for in-depth research and training that aims to conserve these species in the wild.

Many Asian species can be found at the Zoo:

• Sumatran tigers at Great Cats
• Orangutans at the Great Ape House
• Przewalski's horses in the yard next to the Small Mammal House
• White-cheeked gibbons and siamangs at Gibbon Ridge
• Asian elephants at the Elephant House
• Cranes outside the Bird House
• A Komodo dragon and a gharial at the Reptile Discovery Center

Check out the Zoo map and plot your own "Asia Trail" through the Zoo. Or take a virtual world tour.