News Archive

In honor of National Zookeeper Week, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is featuring some of the dedicated professionals who go above and beyond for the animals in our care.

Find the answers to some of the most-searched questions about black-footed ferrets, North America’s only native ferret species!

Western lowland gorilla Moke is learning to walk! This week, he spent some quality time with 9-year-old Kibibi.

Think ewe know all there is to know about goats, pigs, donkeys and moooo-re? These Kids’ Farm animal facts may have you stumped!

A scimitar-horned oryx calf was born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, June 30. The calf was conceived by artificial insemination with sperm that was cryopreserved (frozen) in 2011, and the calf’s mother did not need to be anesthetized for the procedure — a...

Rose Marie, a 31-year-old Przewalski’s horse at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, was humanely euthanized July 6, due to her declining health and quality of life. She was one of the oldest Przewalski’s horses in the world.

SCBI scientists are using innovative GPS tracking collars to better understand the flight patterns of Myanmar's flying foxes.

Training tigers to show their teeth and preening prickly porcupines is all in a day’s work for keeper Dell Guglielmo!

Meet Victoria and Adelaide — the new Bennett’s wallabies at the Zoo! Get the scoop on the Small Mammal House’s marsupials from curator Steve Sarro and animal keepers Ashton Ball and Esther Wray.

A female Guam kingfisher, a brightly colored bird and one of the most endangered bird species on the planet, hatched at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, May 17.

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.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists have provided the first experimental evidence that male western white-bearded wildebeests’ rutting vocalizations are a key driver of the tightly synchronized breeding and calving in the species.

Smithsonian and University of California, Davis scientists and partners have discovered a new coronavirus in a species of bat in Myanmar as part of routine surveillance for the PREDICT project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. A second virus was also detected in Myanmar for...

One of the golden lion tamarin infants born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo last week died this morning, July 3. It appears that the infant fell off one of its parents this morning.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is celebrating the birth of two endangered golden lion tamarins. The monkeys were born June 29 to first-time parents Mo and Izzy and appear to be healthy.

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.

From whiskers to flippers and a penchant for fish, seals and sea lions have a lot in common. So how can you tell these pinnipeds apart?

Read the latest update on the Zoo's 10-week-old western lowland gorilla, Moke, and watch a video of him trying to take his first steps!

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.

Primate keeper Melba Brown says 9-week-old western lowland gorilla infant Moke is taking in all of the sights, sounds and scents around him.

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.

Smithsonian Bird Friendly® coffee was the big winner at a recent online charity auction.

Today, Moke turns two months old! He is just as curious as ever, but now he is becoming bolder and more interested in those around him.