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All news related to Conservation

A small wood turtle stands in a pile of fallen leaves in a forest
May. 23, 2022
Wood turtles are one of the most endangered freshwater turtles in North America. To ensure a future for these reptiles, scientists first need to understand where wood turtles remain and how many are...
panda 50th desktop version
Mar. 16, 2022
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will celebrate 50 years of unprecedented achievement in the care, conservation, breeding and study of giant pandas April 16. Today is...
A male Guam kingfisher wears a replica transmitter while sitting on a keeper's hand.
Feb. 04, 2022
The countdown to the Guam kingfisher’s reintroduction to the wild has begun. Before these birds, also called siheks, can soar over the Palmyra Atoll, scientists need to determine which harness...
American bison grazing on prairie.
Jan. 31, 2022
A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution found that widespread restoration of bison to Tribal lands throughout the Northern Great Plains can help restore the prairie ecosystem while...
A parasitic Jaeger
Dec. 21, 2021
As the Arctic and the oceans warm due to climate change, understanding how a rapidly changing environment may affect birds making annual journeys between the Arctic and the high seas is vital to...
Two scimitar-horned oryx calves.
Dec. 03, 2021
Have you herd . . . our Persian onager filly and scimitar-horned oryx calves are exploring their surroundings! Get the latest update on their adventures from Tara Buk, Smithsonian Conservation...
Cardiac ultrasound being performed on a Guam rail.
Nov. 02, 2021
Guam rails are small, speedy ground birds who can only fly three to 10 feet at a time. They are also only the second bird in history – after the California condor – to recover from being extinct in...
A bobcat walking through an area with tall shrubs and grasses on a sunny day
Sep. 20, 2021
Find out how Smithsonian researchers are using camera traps to study bobcats on the Northern Great Plains.
A swift fox wearing a GPS tracking collar walks through grasses in the open prairie of North-central Montana
Sep. 10, 2021
Sometimes, science stinks — literally! In Montana, researchers are setting up “scat traps" to attract swift foxes, so they can learn from the droppings the foxes leave behind.
A long-billed curlew bird in flight in a clear blue sky
Sep. 08, 2021
Modern technology is helping unravel the mystery of how migratory birds achieve their amazing flights. Researchers are already finding that many birds fly farther, faster and higher than they thought.
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Sep. 07, 2021
From the first bird-tracking study to technology 100 years later, scientists finally know where black-crowned night herons travel.
A small hawk, called a kestrel, held in a researchers hand and wearing a small GPS tracker on its back. Its wings and tail feathers are spread out
Aug. 27, 2021
Not all heroes wear capes, some wear GPS-enabled backpacks and have feathers. Wildlife ecologist Joe Kolowski is studying the breeding ranges of kestrels by fitting them with tiny tracking backpacks...
A purple martin bird perched on the edge of a bird house with its mouth open in a call
Aug. 27, 2021
In the eastern part of North America, purple martins nest in groups of plastic gourds hung by bird enthusiasts. Each year, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's bird team prepares nest...
An American Robin, a small bird with a brown and black feathers and a yellow beak, stands in green grass
Jun. 28, 2021
In late April, birds in the mid-Atlantic region began to turn up sick or dying. Scientists are trying to figure out why.
Two adult tree swallows with bright blue feathers perched on a sign. One has its mouth open in a call.
Jun. 03, 2021
The spring and summer months are a chorus of songbird calls and songs at SCBI. As the breeding season begins, staff prepare artificial nest boxes for birds that will find mates, compete for real...
a 17-year Brood X cicada sits on a leaf
May. 18, 2021
Local songbirds will take advantage of the abundance of cicadas, something Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientists are eager to study.
A lantern fly with a big body and large, patterned wings held in a researcher's hands
Mar. 17, 2021
Artificial light at night is a major factor in global insect decline. Smithsonian scientists and partners found that using amber-colored filters to remove the blue spectra of light from “warm white”...
A bird, called a yellow-billed cuckoo, with a long tail and a yellow bill perches on a branch in a tree
Jan. 12, 2021
Cuckoos are extremely secretive birds and difficult to spot. Researchers are developing a tool, using remote sound recorders and artificial intelligence, to help detect them.
A swift fox with a small body, bushy tail and tall, pointed ears stands on a mound of dirt on an open prairie. The fox is wearing a lightweight GPS collar around its neck.
Jan. 07, 2021
In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago. Learn more in this update from landscape...
A close up photo of a cheetah cub's face with mouth open and tiny teeth showing
Dec. 28, 2020
From a litter of chirping cheetahs and the birth of a lovable giant panda cub to groundbreaking coral reef research and new strides in animal care, there were many milestones to celebrate this year.
Three of Cheetah Echo's cubs sit in their yard on some "furniture", including a new firehose bed.
Dec. 04, 2020
This International Cheetah Day, we are excited to look toward the future for both Echo’s nearly 8-month-old cubs and this vulnerable species.
two poisonous crested rats touch nose-to-nose
Nov. 19, 2020
The African crested rat's fur is packed with a poison so lethal it can fell an elephant, and just a few milligrams can kill a human. Researchers found that it's the only mammal known to sequester...
A shorebird, called a Peruvian tern, with white feathers and a black "mask" of feathers. The bird stands camouflaged among the desert landscape of Peru's Paracas National Reserve.
Oct. 23, 2020
On Peru’s pacific coastline, where desert meets sea, lives one of the least studied and most at-risk birds: the Peruvian tern. This bird's desert camouflage makes it almost impossible to track, but...
A shorebird, called a Peruvian tern, with white feathers and a black "mask" of feathers. The bird stands camouflaged among the desert landscape of Peru's Paracas National Reserve.
Oct. 23, 2020
En la costa del Pacífico peruano, donde el desierto se encuentra con el mar, vive una de las aves menos estudiadas y en mayor riesgo: el gaviotín peruano (Sternula lorata), también conocido como el...
A black-footed ferret mom and her six kits rest together in a small den on a bed of chipped paper
Oct. 05, 2020
We hope that you have enjoyed watching black-footed ferret Potpie and her kits on the Black-footed Ferret Cam! Join us in celebrating the next chapter in their lives, contributing to their species’...