News

A "surprise" spider tortoise hatchling arrived July 5 at the Reptile Discovery Center! Get the scoop from assistant curator Matt Evans.

As our young Bornean orangutan nears his fourth birthday, primate keeper Erin Stromberg reflects on how his relationships with the adults in his social network have blossomed over the last year.

As we celebrate the birth of our newest giant panda cub, take a look back at our top 10 favorite moments from the cub's first two weeks, as seen on the Panda Cam!

Giant panda Mei Xiang continues to be a wonderful mother to her newborn. Last night, she gently set the cub down on the floor of their den and walked into her main indoor enclosure to drink some water.

Our giant panda cub appears to be growing nicely! Over the weekend, the Panda Cam revealed a peek of its tiny paws compared to those of mother Mei Xiang.

Mothers are not only our first friends, they are also our first teachers. In August, our wonderful cheetah mother Echo was busy teaching her 4.5-month-old cubs vocalizations.

Last night, giant panda Mei Xiang gave us another peek at her precious cub! If you look closely, you can see its iconic black eye markings starting to appear.

Big news! Early this morning, our Panda Team observed giant panda Mei Xiang leave the den twice to get a drink of water at 4:27 a.m. and 5:59 a.m. Her brief reprieve offered Panda Cam viewers a look at the growing cub!

Last night around 5:40 p.m., Mei Xiang placed the cub on the floor of her den for just a few seconds, giving all of those watching the Panda Cam a fantastic view of her growing cub.

Giant panda Mei Xiang and her newborn cub continue to do well. As Mei Xiang shifts from a resting position (laying down) to a nursing position (sitting up) and vice-versa, she occasionally holds the cub delicately in her mouth.

Mei Xiang, our 22-year-old giant panda, continues to be a devoted mother. Interestingly, she has found a new position to hold this cub.

Our panda team observed Mei Xiang and her cub overnight and were happy with the behaviors they saw. As expected, Mei Xiang is being an excellent and attentive mother. She has already established positions for nursing and sleeping.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo staff will be available to discuss the recent giant panda cub birth.

Giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) gave birth to a cub at Smithsonian’s National Zoo today, Aug. 21 at 6:35 p.m.

A new genomic study ranks the potential of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to bind to the ACE2 receptor site in 410 vertebrate animals. Old World primates and great apes, which have identical amino acids at the binding site as humans, are predicted to have a very high propensity for binding ACE2 and...

Breeding season is the most demanding time of year for the bird team at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, but it can also be the most rewarding.

State-of-the-art tracking technology reveals previously unknown long-distance movements of Kirtland’s warblers during the mating season that have important conservation implications for North American birds.

It is hard to believe that cheetah cubs Amabala, Jabari, Hasani and Erindi are already four months old! As the cubs grow, we want to ensure that they have a strong relationship with us.

Veterinarians at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo detected tissue consistent with fetal development during Mei Xiang’s ultrasound this morning, Aug. 14.

The furry, feathered and scaly world of zoos, animal care and conservation comes to life in “Zoo Guardians,” a new mobile game launched today. Players are invited to build their own zoos, care for animals, complete quests and interact with realistic 3D representations of wildlife via augmented...

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute carnivore keeper Adri Kopp and intern Shannon Richard share the latest news on Echo's cheetah cubs, from weigh-ins to water play.

What’s black, white and adorable all over? Our new Hartmann’s mountain zebra colt! Born July 2 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, he already is melting our ungulate team’s hearts with his playfulness and curiosity. Get to know him in this Q+A with SCBI animal keepers Morgan Vance and...

Grab a delicious snack with prehensile-tailed porcupine Quilliam, have a ball watching our cheetah cubs play and behold beaver Aspen as he fells a tree. July brought about many exciting moments, not the least of which was the reopening of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo! Before you plan your visit...

Behind the scenes at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the sweet tweets of chirping chicks are music to the Bird House team’s ears. While their homestead exhibit is under renovation, the team has been busy researching, perfecting and literally writing the book of North American songbird and shorebird...

Just how big are tigers? How far can they jump? And what does tiger poop look like? July 29 is International Tiger Day, so sink your teeth into these fun facts about big cats.