News Archive

Nature is often awe-inspiring, but the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s 1-month-old giant panda cub is also ‘aww’-inspiring. Hear the stories behind September's precious moments from the Panda Team.

Our playful 3-month-old Hartmann's mountain zebra colt is a bundle of energy! Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ungulate keeper Tara Buk shares how the colt spent his summer in her latest update on our growing herd.

Animal keeper Kyle Miller leaps into his experience caring for Cuban crocodiles!

Check out a video of last week's giant panda cub exam!

When Mei Xiang left her den to grab a bite to eat this morning, the Panda Team had another opportunity to conduct a brief exam on our 1-month-old giant panda cub.

Sept. 24 is World Gorilla Day, and we are celebrating with an update on our 2-year-old, Moke, and his troop!

After an absence of more than 50 years, the swift fox has returned to the grasslands of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana.

Animal keeper Mariel Lally shares the fluffy scoop on caring for red pandas!

Our giant panda cub has reached a big milestone—today marks one month since its birth Aug. 21. Over the weekend, Mei Xiang left the den, and an opportunity arose to conduct the cub's first veterinary exam!

Guess who is four weeks old today! After 28 days of devoted care from mother Mei Xiang, our giant panda cub is growing into the species’ signature “plump.”

Whether you know them as red pandas, red bear-cats, firefoxes, first pandas, lesser pandas or simply “the other pandas,” get to know these ferociously furry animals.

Exciting news! When giant panda Mei Xiang left the den Sept. 13 to eat some bamboo, the panda team was able to retrieve her 3-week-old cub for its first neonatal exam.

It’s hard to believe that we are already celebrating our youngest Bornean orangutan’s fourth birthday! Catch up on the latest Redd news from primate keeper Erin Stromberg.

Guam kingfishers are incredibly rare and difficult to breed, so we are thrilled to be closing out the breeding season with four new chicks. This has been our biggest year to date — and one of our busiest!

Ecologist Andy Boyce discovered a lobster fossil near his field site in Montana, evidence that long ago this area of the Northern Great Plains was once the floor of a shallow sea.

Our giant panda cub is growing! As our newborn packs on the grams, it is becoming a bit easier to spot on the Panda Cam.

Spindly legs and thick, red fur have earned them the nickname “foxes on stilts,” but maned wolves are neither fox nor wolf. Today, researchers are monitoring maned wolves' heart rates to learn more about these unique and charismatic canids.

Goats are cute … and curious, too! Get the scoop on training these energetic animals from keeper Nikki Maticic, who has been working with the Kids’ Farm goats for more than four years.

As we celebrate the birth of our newest giant panda cub, take a look back at our top 10 favorite moments from the cub's first two weeks, as seen on the Panda Cam!

A "surprise" spider tortoise hatchling arrived July 5 at the Reptile Discovery Center! Get the scoop from assistant curator Matt Evans.

As our young Bornean orangutan nears his fourth birthday, primate keeper Erin Stromberg reflects on how his relationships with the adults in his social network have blossomed over the last year.

Giant panda Mei Xiang continues to be a wonderful mother to her newborn. Last night, she gently set the cub down on the floor of their den and walked into her main indoor enclosure to drink some water.

Our giant panda cub appears to be growing nicely! Over the weekend, the Panda Cam revealed a peek of its tiny paws compared to those of mother Mei Xiang.

Mothers are not only our first friends, they are also our first teachers. In August, our wonderful cheetah mother Echo was busy teaching her 4.5-month-old cubs vocalizations.

Last night, giant panda Mei Xiang gave us another peek at her precious cub! If you look closely, you can see its iconic black eye markings starting to appear.