News
2011
Wildlife Health Training Course in Bhutan |
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Three Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists left recently for the remote and mountainous Kingdom of Bhutan nestled in the Himalayas between India and China. The Smithsonian team includes the National Zoo’s chief veterinarian Suzan Murray, National Zoo veterinarian Jessica Siegal-Willott, and professional training programs manager Joe Kolowski from the Zoo’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability. Their mission is to conduct a critically needed training course in wildlife health and immobilization.  Read more. |
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Budding Animal Artists Emerge at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo |
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| The animals at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are getting their paws dirty with non-toxic, water-based paint and creating one-of-a-kind works of art. Painting is one among many activities that fall under Animal Enrichment—a program that provides physically and mentally stimulating activities and environments for the Zoo’s residents. The animals have the opportunity not only to choose how to behave, but also to use their natural abilities and behaviors in new and exciting ways. Learn more. |
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A Bright Future “Insight” For Elephant Cognition Research |
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| Kandula, the problem-solving pachyderm, has made quite the impression on researchers lately. His ability to understand relationships and solve problems based on that knowledge, a trait known as “insight,” is so impressive that researchers have been forced to rethink common assumptions regarding elephant intelligence altogether. Elephants have always been considered quite smart, but they’ve never before shown this ability to researchers in a quantifiable way. Learn more. |
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Scientists Discover the Largest Assembly of Whale Sharks Ever Recorded |
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| Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are often thought to be solitary behemoths that live and feed in the open ocean. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues, however, have found that this is not necessarily the case, finding that whale sharks can be gregarious and amass in the hundreds to feed in coastal waters. Learn more. |
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| SCBI Front Royal welcomed its first two cheetah births! These cheetah cubs are the first ever to be born at Front Royal. Their birth is a product of many years of research and collaboration. Learn more. |
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SCBI Front Royal welcomed its first two cheetah births! These cheetah cubs are the first ever to be born at Front Royal. Their birth is a product of many years of research and collaboration. |
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Researchers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo were the first to identify and are the world leaders in research on the elephant herpesvirus, which threatens elephant populations worldwide. Elephants in captivity and in the wild are affected by this condition, which has been responsible for about half of the deaths of young elephants in zoos. Scientists are working hard to understand elephant herpesvirus, learn more about how it is passed among elephants, develop and improve treatments, and find a vaccine. |
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2010
| The birth of four cubs to African lion Shera on August 31 was a triumph for the Zoo. Scientists and keepers worked together to build the Zoo's three lions into a pride, to supervise social interactions and breeding, and to test for and track Shera's pregnancy. Learn more. |
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How Green is Our Valley |
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| The National Zoo grows all its own hay on the 3,200-acre Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal. In order to increase native biodiversity, SCBI scientists are switching some fields from cold-season grasses to native warm-season grasses. | |
| Reptile Discovery Center keeper Matt Evans took a trip to Panama to help establish "lifeboat colonies" of local amphibians before they're driven extinct by a devastating fungus. See photos of his trip and learn more |
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Scientists Look to Genetics to Help Elephants Ward off Disease |
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Learn more.
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