News Archive

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 the wild. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is an active participant...

It was a busy week for Rosalie and her five cubs, as they moved back inside an artificial den and are back on the Cheetah Cub Cam. Animal care staff were finally able weigh each cub!

It seems that giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji inherited his mother Mei Xiang’s fondness for the scent of bubble bath. On an autumn day, keepers presented the pair with some suds to play in, and they went wild! Get the latest #PandaStory update from keeper Mariel Lally.

We’re leaping for joy and celebrating World Lemur Day at Smithsonian’s National Zoo! This special holiday—which takes place the last Friday in October—is the perfect occasion for learning all about our lemur friends.

Cuddle puddles are back! Cheetah mom Rosalie moved her five cubs back into the den with a webcam!

Animal care staff peeked in on Rosalie's five cheetah cubs in their new den of tall grasses.

Cheetah mom Rosalie has picked a new "den" for her cubs. She moved them, one by one, to a large clump of tall grasses in her yard. The area is well-protected and it is not uncommon for cheetah moms to move dens.

Rosalie’s cubs are 1 week old today and there’s only good news to report: they’re adorable, fat and happy.

For the first time in 16 years, Smithsonian’s National Zoo is celebrating the birth of golden-headed lion tamarin twins.

The lions and tigers who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 the week of Sept. 13 are recovering well. All are behaving, eating and drinking normally. Zoo animal care staff also administered the first round of animal-specific COVID vaccines to 11 animals Oct. 13.

Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, welcomed a litter of five cheetah cubs today.

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 the week of Sept. 13 are behaving and eating normally.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, a 2-week-old male cheetah cub was transferred to Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon, and introduced to his foster cheetah family. Get the full story from cheetah reproductive biologist Adrienne Crosier!

A 2-week-old male cheetah cub from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, was transferred to a new cheetah foster mother at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon, Sunday, Oct. 3.

Raise your trunks for the world’s largest land mammal: the elephant! Find out how animal keeper, Rebecca Riley, cares for Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Asian elephant herd.

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continue to be treated for COVID-19. All tigers and lions, including the three lions noted of concern in the Sept. 24 update, are improving and eating.

"Shellebrate" land hermit crabs and take a behind-the-scenes look at how keepers built a habitat for these charismatic crustaceans.

Earlier this week, the 2-week-old cheetah cub we are temporarily hand-raising received a clean bill of health from the veterinary team! Get the full cubdate from biologist Adrienne Crosier.

Black-footed ferrets, North America’s only native ferret species, were thought to have gone extinct in 1979. On Sept. 26, 1981, a black-footed ferret was discovered on the Wyoming prairie. From that unlikely occurrence, an entire species began its comeback — one of the most remarkable conservation...

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continue to be treated for COVID-19. All tigers and three lions are eating normally and improving. Three lions are of greater concern.

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji may have found a new favorite pastime. While keepers were cleaning the outdoor patio Sept. 16, our curious cub jumped in the hose spray and had a splashing good time!

Playing, foraging, training and snoozing—it’s all in a day in the life of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s western lowland gorilla troop!

Get an inside look at the one-week-old cheetah cub animal care staff at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are currently hand-raising in this #Cubdate Q&A with biologist Adrienne Crosier.

Find out how Smithsonian researchers are using camera traps to study bobcats on the Northern Great Plains.

Animal care staff at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) are hand-raising a male cheetah cub for several weeks before placing the cub with a foster cheetah mother at another zoo. The cub was one of a litter of three born to 7-year-old female Sukiri Sept. 16; one cub was stillborn...