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The East African savanna, a dry tropical grassland, is home to a rich array of spectacular animals. Predators like lions and cheetahs prey on grazing and browsing animals like zebras and gazelles. Stately birds like kori bustards stalk smaller prey while rarely seen naked mole-rats inhabit burrows on the savanna. You can see these species and more without traveling to Africa. Just come to the Zoo or take a virtual visit. African species at the Zoo

Animals from many parts of Africa make their home at the Zoo. The Zoo's Cheetah Conservation Station is home to Grevy's zebras, scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelles, cheetahs, and other animals.

New Dama Gazelle at the Zoo

A seven-year-old male dama gazelle named Raul arrived at the Zoo in late December. Dama gazelles are the largest of all gazelles and are also the world's rarest—it is estimated only 500 are left in the wild. Visitors will be able to see him and other African Savanna species at the Cheetah Conservation Station.

New Cheetahs Arrive at SCBI-Front Royal from South Africa

On August 1, 2011, we received a male and a female cheetah from DeWildt Cheetah Breeding Center in South Africa. They are both a year and a half old and still very playful. They are settling in well.

Sampson is a very vocal male and stutters to all of the surrounding cheetahs. He is looking for a buddy, and we are going to try to make a coalition with him and Nick. Sanurra is also very vocal and is fearless. She will run alongside the mower and is very interested in tour groups. We ran Sanurra on the lure and were amazed at what a good runner she is! We had a film crew come out so we could show off her talents. They are both very genetically valuable and are great additions to our breeding program.

Sampson

Sanurra

Five Cheetahs Born in May Thriving

The five cheetah cubs born on May 28 to six-year-old Amani at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, are doing well! They had quite an adventure playing in the first snow on October 29! They sure had fun running around in it. The cubs are almost seven months old and they weigh between 35 and 45 pounds. They have received their names! Read more in a new keeper update.

See photos and watch a video of the cubs.

Older Cheetah Cubs at SCBI-Front Royal Celebrate Their First Birthdays

We had a birthday party for Nick and Maggie who turned one year old this month! They are getting so big; Nick now weighs 75 pounds and Maggie weighs 63 pounds.

They celebrated with a bloodsicle birthday “cake” with layers of meat and it had oxtails and rabbits on top of it. They loved it and shared very well. Read more in the latest keeper updates.

See photos and watch a video about the cubs.

The cubs were born to two separate females; the first to five-year-old Amani on December 6, the second to nine-year-old Zazi on December 16. Read about the news and see photos.

Celebrate the birth of the cubs—adopt a cheetah!

Please note: The cheetah cubs' temporary new home does not have web cams.

(please leave this field blank) Get the latest National Zoo news Subscribe to our e-newsletter (please leave this field blank) First Name: Please enter a valid email address Enter your email address: By signing up, I acknowledge I am at least 13 years of age or a parent giving a child permission to sign up. Questions or comments? Please email us. Support Our Cheetah Conservation Program | Help with cam Can’t see any animals? The animal(s) in this enclosure may have moved out of view. Spotting cheetahs: Three male cheetahs live at the Zoo's Cheetah Conservation Station. Cheetahs are the world's fastest land mammal, able to run as fast as 60 miles per hour. Cheetah Fact Sheet | Adopt a Cheetah Related Cams      Naked Mole-rat      Lions:   Lions | Lion Cubs 4W | Lion Cubs 5W | Lion Cubs 3W

Cheetah Chat

Tune into the Zoo's podcast, Cheetah Chat, to learn about cheetah spots and speed, and the history and future of the Zoo's cheetah conservation efforts.

Animal Enigma

This striped carnivore lives in many regions of Africa and is now on exhibit at the Small Mammal House. What is it?

Grasslands in Africa and Beyond
Africa's Sahel grassland, home to endangered scimitar-horned oryx and many other rare species, merges into the Sahara desert to the north and the savanna to the south. Mostly dry grasslands also cover southern Africa, home to cheetahs, Cape buffalo, black rhinos, and kori bustards also found in East Africa. Zoo scientists are working in all of these areas to help conserve the incredible biodiversity of Africa's grasslands.

Moist tropical forests blanket parts of central and West Africa, home to great apes, including western lowland gorillas, which you can see at the Zoo.

North America's grasslands were once home to abundant black-footed ferrets, bison, and prairie dogs. On South America's plains, seriemas and maned wolves stalk prey. Parts of Asia, such as Mongolia, home of Bactrian camels, Mongolian gazelles, and Przewalski's horses, are covered with grasslands.