News

One of the National Zoo's adult male cheetahs, Granger, was humanely euthanized March 8. Granger was 10-and-a-half years old. The median life expectancy for male cheetahs in the wild is between six and eight years. Recently, animal care staff noticed that Granger was not eating his entire diet and...

Two-year-old Stanley crane Alice seems to enjoy participating in daily demonstrations with keepers and Zoo visitors. But how does she really feel about these interactions? To get inside Alice's head, Bird House curator Sara Hallager and keeper Debi Talbott teamed up with Smithsonian Conservation...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo has temporarily closed the Kids' Farm exhibit because E. coli stx 1 gene bacteria was discovered in a few of the animals. The animals are now being managed under quarantine protocols. At this time, no staff have been affected and no animals are showing any signs of...

What does it take to care for a baby that weighs a mere 40 grams at birth? Biologist Kenton Kerns gives the scoop on raising the tiny tots in our latest keeper Q&A.

As some of our panda cam viewers may have noticed, we've made some changes at the panda house recently. Each giant panda requires an individualized care plan. It's been a great learning experience for the Zoo's panda team to care for Bei Bei. Mei Xiang gains more experience with each cub, and it was...

WHAT:Free public lecture on the Save Vanishing Species postage stamp WHEN: Thursday, March 3Stamp signing: 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.Lecture: 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. WHERE: Visitor Center AuditoriumSmithsonian's National Zoo3001 Connecticut Ave. N.W. WHO: Nancy Stahl, Save Vanishing Species stamp illustratorBrian...

Cuban crocodile breeding season started in December at the Reptile Discovery Center. This usually means we see some aggressive behaviors between our two males. Our males are separated in different enclosures and are never in the same space, but they can still see each other. They will signal their...

In a serendipitous turn of events, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and partners have discovered a malaria parasite, Plasmodium odocoilei, in up to 25 percent of white-tailed deer along the East Coast of the United States. The results, published Feb. 5 in Science Advances...

A 16-year-old male Przewalski's (shah-VAL-skee) horse named Frog died suddenly under anesthesia in preparation for a reproductive assessment at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). A final pathology report will provide more information in the coming weeks. The median life...

For the past 50 years, the number of wood thrush ( Hylocichla mustelina) that breed in the United States has decreased more than 60 percent.

On behalf of the entire Zoo, we'd like to thank the 7,498 people who traveled far and wide to meet Bei Bei last Saturday! The panda house is now open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Now that Bei Bei is bigger and more active, he's not always inclined to sit still on the scale long enough to get an...

Extreme weather conditions, like those expected with this year's powerful El Niño have strong effects on a charismatic Amazonian bird species, the wire-tailed manakin (Pipra filicauda).

Examing bird-insect differences between individual species of trees on coffee farms.

WHAT: Public debut of giant panda cub Bei Bei at the National Zoo WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 16 WHAT: Public debut of giant panda cub Bei Bei at the National Zoo WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 16 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Note: It is recommended that visitors interested in seeing Bei Bei arrive at the panda habitat by 3:30 p...

Representatives from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute helped lead a Giant Panda Laboratory Diagnostic International Exchange Training workshop with staff from the China Conservation & Research Centre for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in November. The workshop was the third and final...

After a two-year hiatus, red pandas have returned to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Visitors can see them at the Small Mammal House, where they will live until upgrades to the red panda exhibit on Asia Trail are completed. The upgrades are expected to be finished by spring. We hope that our...

Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and partners have published a paper that will help them save Panamanian frog species from extinction due to a deadly fungal disease called Chytridiomycosis (chytrid). The study, which was published Jan. 4 in Animal Conservation, draws on the expertise of...

For the first time in this pride, Zoo veterinarians have successfully drawn blood from a lion—a juvenile male named Jumbe—while he was awake. Keeper Rebecca Stites reveals what this means for the health and future of the lion pride in the latest Q&A. How do you draw blood from an African lion? With...

Investigating how nonnative plants may be affecting food resources for backyard birds.

SMBC studies the endemic Island Scrub-Jay on the Channel Islands.

Animal care staff at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) humanely euthanized an elderly male scimitar-horned oryx named Dr. Bob Dec. 14. A final pathology report will provide more information in the coming weeks. Dr. Bob was 18 years old. The median life expectancy for scimitar...

As of December 7, Bei Bei weighed about 16 pounds (7.32 kg). Even though he's grown exponentially over the last few months, he still won't be eating bamboo for a while. However, he has started to mouth it, which is typical of a cub his age. Bei Bei's teeth are continuing to come in, but we're not...

After decades of attempts, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists and researchers at Cornell University have become the first to successfully use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to produce live, healthy domestic puppies from cryopreserved (frozen) embryos. As part of the Cornell...

By: Lauren Augustine It's an exciting time of year at RDC! Our Cuban crocodiles have begun exhibiting breeding behaviors. In general the males will initiate courtship with a head slap. This involves the male making a very specific posture in the pool where his head is raised above the waterline, his...

During a routine exam on Monday November 30, Bei Bei weighed 15 pounds (6.89 kg)! He's getting more difficult to weigh now that he is trying to climb out of the weighing tub! In stark comparison, his older sister Bao Bao weighs almost 150 pounds (68 kg). At his exam on November 19, we saw that Bei...