Animals at the National Zoo
- How do I find out more about an animal that lives at the Zoo?
- About 2,000 animals live at the Zoo. Our website has news, updates, and background information about many of them, including giant pandas, Asian elephants, lions, and giant anteaters, as well as fact sheets about many of the 400 species represented at the Zoo. For more information, we encourage you to start here or search our site (see the upper right corner of any page). As you might imagine, our keepers are always busy caring for the animals, but if there’s any news and a keeper has a little time, we will be sure to post an update on our website.
Want to help us care for the animals? Adopt a species! We have many species to choose from, and Adopt a Species packages make great gifts for yourself or a loved one. Learn more. - How do I find out if the Zoo has a particular animal, such as flamingos?
- See a current list of animals in our collection. The Zoo is home to 2,000 animals representing 400 species. We're sorry if we don't have an animal you'd like to see but hope you'll enjoy our fascinating variety of animals during your visit, including animals that are on exhibit at very few U.S. zoos.
- Can I donate my pet to the Zoo?
- The National Zoo does not, as a matter of policy, accept donations of pet animals or rescued wild animals. Animals are added to our collections according to a careful plan that meets our education, research, and conservation objectives. For help finding a new home for your pet, please see this
Humane Society web page. - Can you tell me about giant pandas, gorillas, and other species?
- Our website has extensive information about the animals in the Zoo’s collection as well as our many conservation programs. Start here or search our site (see the upper right corner of any page). If you don't find the species information you're looking for, we encourage you to look on the websites of other organizations accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
- Can you tell me some specifics about an animal's exhibit or diet?
- The Zoo’s nutrition staff carefully determines what to feed all 2,000 of our animals. Best animal management practices according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the extensive knowledge of Zoo staff and other professionals determine the details of our animals’ exhibits.
- I was just watching a web cam—how do I find out what the animal was doing?
- Thanks for tuning into one of the Zoo's web cams, which we provide as a window into the world of our animals in the hopes of getting people to care and learn about wildlife. We are happy to know so many people enjoy taking a virtual visit to the National Zoo. We encourage you to read about the animal you were watching by following one of the links below the cam. For naked mole-rat cam viewers, we have additional FAQs.
All of the Zoo’s animals are provided with the best care by our extremely dedicated, knowledgeable staff so if you are worried about something you saw, be assured that keepers regularly monitor all of the animals and take action when necessary.
We welcome support of our wildlife conservation efforts. Caring for and conserving animals costs a lot, as do the operation and maintenance of our web cams. Please consider joining Friends of the National Zoo or making a donation. A FONZ membership will get you great benefits at more than 100 aquariums and zoos around the country. - I was just watching a web cam but couldn't see any animals. Why not?
- Some of our cams are able to show different views, and we have wonderful volunteers who operate those during the day. But some of our cams show a fixed view of an animal's enclosure, and there's not much we can do if an animal chooses to be somewhere out of view. Most of our cams are outdoors and require maintenance now and again. We apologize if a cam you'd like to watch is temporarily unavailable.
- I saw an orphaned or injured animal in my neighborhood? Can I bring it to the Zoo?
- Please contact your local wildlife rehabilitator or nature center.
