News
December 2011
Smithsonian Scientists Help Successfully Build First Frozen Repository for the Great Barrier Reef
Researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and other partnering organizations spent two weeks at the end of November collecting sperm and embryonic cells during spawning from two species of coral and have built the first frozen repository for the Great Barrier Reef that could someday restore a coral species or diversify a population.
November 2011
Nearly 20 years after the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute became the first to produce an Eld’s deer fawn through artificial insemination, SCBI scientists have now contributed to the birth of the first Eld’s deer via in vitro fertilization.
October 2011
New Cornell-Smithsonian Joint Graduate Program Trains Future Wildlife Conservation Scientists
To meet the global challenge of preserving biodiversity, Cornell University and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have teamed up to offer a new shared graduate program that will train the next generation of wildlife conservation scientists.
January 2011
SCBI scientists don't just study animals; they study the planet. Enormous continent- and planet-wide initiatives are taking place in Front Royal that will monitor the health of the planet by studying large-scale climate shifts, the same way SCBI veterinarians monitor the health of animals by checking their temperatures. |
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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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Kim Terrell, a Ph. D candidate at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, was awarded the prestigious David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship by the Society for Conservation Biology. This program seeks to develop future world leaders and entrepreneurs who are successful at linking conservation science and application.  Learn more. |
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September 2010
| 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 more native warm-season grasses. Learn more. |
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| As part of SCBI’s mission to educate and train the next generation of conservationists around the globe, two of the National Zoo’s science centers have teamed up on a multi-year program to build capacity for conservation in southern Africa. In August, SCBI scientists hosted a workshop with Cheetah Conservation Botswana to assess conservation needs in the region and identify next steps. Learn more. |
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| 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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June 2010
| After more than 30 years of studying clouded leopards, Zoo scientists have solved many puzzles about this perplexing species, starting with the biggest: figuring out just what a clouded leopard wants out of its habitat, and they're applying that knowledge at the Zoo's Front Royal facility. Learn more. |
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Mary Hagedorn, a fish biologist at SCBI has had an electric fish named in her honor, in recognition of her work in the field of bony, electric fishes. |
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May 2010
On May 12 and 14, two rare white-naped cranes hatched at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
This year’s hatches bring SCBI’s white-naped crane flock to 12 birds which is 20 percent of the entire captive flock in North America. SCBI has also produced seven chicks in the last five years, which is the most production of any zoo. All of those chicks came from adults other zoos were unable to breed.
