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Animal News

California Sea Lion
Jul. 19, 2019
With temperatures soaring, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continues to take good care of its creatures — human and non-human alike! Find out what keepers do for animals in this heat.
Jul. 19, 2019
At first glance, Virginia’s farmlands seem quite peaceful. But beneath the swaying fields of hay lies a bustling ecosystem for the birds that call the grasslands home. One such avian animal—the...
Persian onager calf born in 2015.
Jul. 19, 2019
Excitement is in the air at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, where hoofstock keepers are eagerly anticipating the births of three Persian onagers! Get to know...
Kristina Anderson-Teixeria
Jul. 18, 2019
Kristina Anderson-Teixeira—a forest ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s (SCBI) Conservation Ecology Center and at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Center for...
Giant panda Bei Bei sitting in his outdoor hammock.
Jul. 17, 2019
During the past several weeks, Bei Bei has been experiencing some gastrointestinal discomfort which has caused him to pass several mucous stools and loose stools. 
Jul. 16, 2019
Wild animals are very elusive, so how do scientists learn about their behavior and life history? Find out how Smithsonian scientists use camera traps and acoustic recorders to covertly monitor...
A newborn scimitar-horned oryx calf with tan skin and large ears stands in the grass near its mother, an oryx named Chari, and another adult oryx
Jul. 16, 2019
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's herd of scimitar-horned oryx is growing. Keepers welcomed five calves during the past few weeks.
Close-up of Asian elephant Maharani's face.
Jul. 12, 2019
Female Asian elephant Maharani is turning 29 years old Sunday, July 14, and we are celebrating with her favorite thing—food!
giant panda mei xiang in her yard
Jul. 12, 2019
Keepers are still waiting to find out if giant panda Mei Xiang is pregnant. She has not started exhibiting many behaviors associated with the secondary hormone rise of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy. 
A small green lizard, called an Asian water dragon, with scaly skin, a long, thin, striped tail, small spikes along its spine and short claws on its digits
Jul. 05, 2019
A 2-year-old female Asian water dragon who was the first documented birth by facultative parthenogenesis in her species died from blood cancer.
A lesser kudus with a long neck, large ears, and light brown skin with thin white stripes grazes in the grass
Jul. 05, 2019
As his name suggests, Zoo staff are “grateful” for 5-month-old male lesser kudu, Kushukuru! He was born Jan. 12, 2019, to 5-year-old first time mother Rogue and 8-year-old father Garrett.
A scientist takes a biological sample from a tapir that is fitted with a GPS collar
Jul. 05, 2019
Why is this mountain tapir wearing a collar? His movements and behaviors are being tracked via satellite by Smithsonian scientists!
Jul. 05, 2019
Western lowland gorilla infant Moke is becoming bolder, and with his growing confidence, we are beginning to see traces of his mom’s personality, says assistant curator Becky Malinsky. 
A male African lion laying on the ground with greenery in the background
Jul. 01, 2019
Lion cubs grow up fast, and even faster in zoos. In a long-term study, scientists at SCBI found that male African lions living in human care hit puberty a full year earlier than their counterparts in...
Jun. 28, 2019
Make the most of your time out of the office with a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo!
A sea lion pup born June 23, 2019, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo falls asleep while nursing with its mother
Jun. 28, 2019
A new set of flippers splashed down at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where American Trail keepers are celebrating the arrival of a California sea lion pup. Animal care staff are closely monitoring the...
Red panda cub being weighed.
Jun. 25, 2019
Moonlight, a 4-year-old red panda, gave birth to a cub overnight June 12 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Moonlight and the cub appear to be doing well and...
Jun. 21, 2019
Visitors to Washington, D.C., can expect warm weather and humidity this season. But not to worry — we’ve rounded up a few of the best ways to beat the heat at the Zoo this summer.
Jun. 21, 2019
The study, which is among the first genomic studies on otters, found that both the sea otter and giant otter have lost a considerable number of genes related to the sense of smell — a faculty that is...
A hooded crane chick in the grass.
Jun. 19, 2019
A small beak broke through one of the hooded crane eggs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, June 12.
Jun. 13, 2019
Treat dad like the king (of the jungle) he is at the Smithsonian's National Zoo!
An Asian elephant with large tusks walks near houses in Myanmar
Jun. 12, 2019
Large animals, like the Asian elephants, have evolved to grow and mature at a different rate than many smaller species monitored by organizations like the International Union for the Conservation of...
North American beaver Birch snacks on his favorite food, corn, at the American Trail exhibit.
Jun. 12, 2019
We are sad to share that 4-year-old North American beaver Birch died suddenly June 3.
Jun. 10, 2019
Read a copy of the testimony the director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute gave before House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on June 4, 2019.
Gorillas Calaya and Moke at the Great Ape House outdoor yard.
Jun. 07, 2019
With two youngsters, Moke and Redd, growing up at the Great Ape House, primate staff are taking the rare opportunity to study the gestures and spatial proximity between gorilla and orangutan mother-...