News Archive

If you plant it, they will come. A collaborative research team including scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Guanyinshan Nature Reserve and Tsinghua University has established four bamboo restoration plots with the ambitious goal of accelerating the return of pandas to...

The New Year will bring in some new changes to the panda house. Beginning Dec. 5, the panda house at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat may occasionally close during weekday mornings to allow for the installation of a brand new exhibit!

Three-year-old giant panda played and tumbled in the snow Thursday, Nov. 15.

Carve your Halloween pumpkin to look like giant panda Bei Bei today with this downloadable stencil!

Giant panda Bei Bei celebrated his third birthday Aug. 22 with a special ice cake.

Bei Bei turned 3 years old today! In celebration of his big day, Bei Bei enjoyed an ice-cake, participated in an enrichment painting session and received a new panda-friendly enrichment toy.

A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and animal keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute have determined that giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) will not give birth this year.

The exhibits team built the hammocks from sturdy firehose and installed them. There has been a hammock in Bei Bei’s enclosure for several years, but it was starting to show some wear-and-tear as it’s been a favorite resting spot for him and Bao Bao when she lived there.

Beginning today, June 24, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be closed to keep a quiet area around female giant panda Mei Xiang’s den.

The panda team has started seeing more pronounced behavioral changes in Mei Xiang, which is normal and expected for a pregnant or pseudopregnant giant panda. Overall, she is spending more time sleeping and is less responsive to the keepers.

In honor of the Washington, D.C. Capitals making the NHL finals, the Smithsonian's National Zoo's giant panda Tian Tian was given a special treat of a bamboo hockey stick, ice puck and a fruitsicle star!

It’s been almost three months since Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated. Keepers, veterinarians and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists have been monitoring her carefully ever since.

The beginning of March was a whirlwind at the Giant Panda Habitat. Mei Xiang finally went into peak estrus March 1 after the panda team had been monitoring her and Tian Tian 24-hours-a-day for nearly a week. There is always a lot of activity around the panda house when Mei Xiang is approaching peak...

A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute performed an artificial insemination on giant panda Mei Xiang.

Keepers have noticed some dramatic changes in Mei Xiang and Tian Tian’s behavior during the past several days. On Saturday, Feb. 17, Mei Xiang started showing behavioral changes that indicate she may be going into estrus within the next few weeks.

Giant panda Bei Bei celebrated the Lunar New Year with some special Year of the Dog enrichment!