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Newsroom

Phone: 202-633-3055
Email: ZooSCBICommunications@si.edu

Welcome to the newsroom for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. If you are a reporter and would like to arrange an interview or get more information on the Zoo’s animals and conservation science research, or request photos or video, please contact the communications team to facilitate your request. Before calling to discuss stories on some of the most-covered topics, media are encouraged to look over online resources for details on the Zoo’s giant pandas, Asian elephants, and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

To be added to the Zoo's press release distribution list, please fill out the contact form on the right side of this page and use the subject line: "add to distribution list."

Each press release includes related photos and videos. See below.

Press Releases

Asian elephant Ambika at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Elephant Trails habitat in 2016.
Mar. 28, 2020
Elderly Asian Elephant Ambika Dies at Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo community is mourning the loss of Ambika, the beloved eldest member of its Asian elephant herd. She was humanely euthanized yesterday, March 27, following a recent and...
Cheetah Miti and her cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in 2018.
Mar. 24, 2020
Two Animals Die at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Animal care staff at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are mourning the loss of two rare species—a cheetah and an Eld’s deer.
giant panda eating bamboo
Mar. 23, 2020
Giant Panda Mei Xiang Is Artificially Inseminated at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo performed an artificial insemination on giant panda Mei Xiang, March 22, at 9:45 a.m.  
Press Release Archive

Zoo News

two cheetah cubs with their eyes closed lay in hay
Mar. 30, 2020
Saving Cheetah Cubs One Drop of Milk at a Time
A special delivery of cheetah milk recently arrived at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's milk bank (the largest milk repository in the world). Find out what researchers hope to learn from this unique...
Female giant panda Mei Xiang surveys her yard at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat.
Mar. 16, 2020
Celebrating National Panda Day
Happy national panda day! Here at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Asia Trail exhibit, we are celebrating with giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, as well as our red panda pair, Asa and Jackie.
Zoo entrance with icon banners.
Mar. 13, 2020
COVID-19 Update
As a public health precaution due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is temporarily closed to the public starting Saturday, March 14.
More News