Tiger Conservation Partnership to Help Stem Devastating Effects of Poaching
December 22, 2011
The survival of wild tigers hinges on the ability of tiger-range countries and their partners in conservation to stop the biggest threat to tigers: poaching.

Winners of Gin-GRR-Bread Kids’ Farm Habitat Contest Revealed During ZooLights at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
December 12, 2011
The spotlight of ZooLights fell on the Kids’ Farm, sponsored by State Farm®, Sunday at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Smithsonian Scientists Help Successfully Build First Frozen Repository for the Great Barrier Reef
December 9, 2011
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.

Smithsonian Scientists Discover That Urban Songbirds Adjust Their Melodies to Adapt to Various Elements of City Life
December 5, 2011
For the first time, researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center analyzed how songbirds are affected by both general noise and the acoustics of hard human-made surfaces in urban areas.

Photo Release: Picasso or Panda? Budding Animal Artists Emerge at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
December 1, 2011
Sans berets, smocks or palettes, 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 among many activities that fall under Animal Enrichment—a program that provides physically and mentally stimulating activities and environments for the Zoo’s residents.

New Giant Pacific Octopus at Smithsonian’s National Zoo Needs a Name
November 28, 2011
The Zoo has teamed up with the Washington Post’s KidsPost in search of the most creative, fitting moniker for the new eight-armed ambassador of the oceans.

First Eld’s Deer Born from In Vitro Fertilization with Help of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Scientists
November 28, 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.

Top Five Reasons to Visit the Smithsonian’s National Zoo This Holiday Season
November 22, 2011
Instead of hibernating this holiday season, visitors can weather the winter at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

ZooLights Starts Friday at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
November 22, 2011
See Washington Capitals Players, Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perreault, skate on Dec. 11

Photo Release: Voters Pick Rosebud for Name of Smithsonian Black-Footed Ferret Kit on Webcam
November 4, 2011
After voting polls closed at noon on November 4, black-footed ferret keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., revealed the ferret webcam star’s new name—on the webcam. More than 1,000 voters picked the winning name, Rosebud.

Call Issued to Save Wild Tigers from Extinction
November 2, 2011
Project Predator, an initiative to protect and save the world’s last surviving wild tigers was unveiled today at the 80th INTERPOL General Assembly, a gathering of global law enforcement officials from the organization’s 190 member countries.

Deck the Barn with “Baas” of Holly; Register Now for Friends of the National Zoo 2011 Gin-GRR-bread Habitat Contest Featuring Kids’ Farm Theme
November 1, 2011
Calling all bakers, artists, animal lovers and holiday enthusiasts! Let your imagination run wild and enter today to build a Winter Wonderland Kids’ Farm Habitat, as part of the second annual FONZ Gin-GRR-bread Habitat Contest sponsored by Starbucks.

New Cornell-Smithsonian Joint Graduate Program Trains Future Wildlife Conservation Scientists
October 26, 2011
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.

New Genetic Evidence Confirms Coyote Migration Route to Virginia and Hybridization with Wolves
October 25, 2011
Researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute used DNA from coyote scat (feces) to trace the route that led some of the animals to colonize in Northern Virginia. The researchers also confirmed that, along the way, the coyotes interbred with the native Great Lakes wolves.

Photo Release: Black-footed Ferret Kit at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Seeks a Name
October 24, 2011
She is small, she is cute and she is a webcam star. But this little black-footed ferret, born April 15 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., does not have a name.

Scientists Determine Family Tree for Most-Endangered Bird Family in the World
October 20, 2011
Using one of the largest DNA data sets for a group of birds and employing next-generation sequencing methods, Smithsonian scientists and collaborators have determined the evolutionary family tree for one of the most strikingly diverse and endangered bird families in the world, the Hawaiian honeycreepers.

Photo Release: Naked Mole-Rat 20th Anniversary at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
October 20, 2011
Twenty years ago today, the National Zoo welcomed naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) into its collection. These rodents, which are more closely related to porcupines and guinea pigs than to their namesake, are one of only a handful of mammals that exhibit eusocial behavior.