Zoo News Archive
Aug. 07, 2017
All across the world, scientists are tracking the movements of animals, collecting considerable data to better understand how animals migrate, what paths they take and what threats they may face...
Aug. 04, 2017
For Asian elephant keepers, working among the giants of the animal kingdom entails training, enriching and caring for the Zoo's multi-generational herd, as well as contributing to research and...
Aug. 04, 2017
Behavior can tell the giant panda team quite a bit about the pandas, but the behaviors they exhibit are only half the story. When it comes to predicting when Mei Xiang will give birth, or when she is...
Aug. 04, 2017
Ever since 42-year-old Asian elephant Kamala arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in May 2014, keeper Amanda Bobyack has helped her settle into her habitat. Part of that adjustment included...
Jul. 31, 2017
Following endangered Kirtland's warblers from Michigan to the Bahamas.
Jul. 27, 2017
As the world prepares to celebrate Global Tiger Day this Saturday, July 29, Great Cats keepers have some big news to share about the 2-week-old Sumatran tiger cub in their care: it appears to be a...
Jul. 27, 2017
See the beginning of a kiwi egg hatching in this behind-the-scenes Facebook Live at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute!
Jul. 26, 2017
Keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are mourning the loss of Minnesota, a Przewalski’s horse who was humanely euthanized yesterday morning.
Jul. 25, 2017
Kids’ Farm keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are mourning the loss of Tulip, a 13-year-old Holstein cow who was humanely euthanized July 24.
Jul. 21, 2017
Animal keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are hand-raising a dama gazelle calf. The male calf was born July 4.
Jul. 21, 2017
Two litters of red panda cubs were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute last month within days of each other.
Jul. 21, 2017
Activity at the giant panda habitat has slowed since the flurry of breeding season in May. Keepers, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and veterinarians were monitoring Mei Xiang...
Jul. 19, 2017
On July 11, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientist Autumn-Lynn Harrison set out to deploy GPS tags on the Chesapeake Bay’s brown pelicans to track their migrations and better understand the ...
Jul. 13, 2017
About 100 kilometers south of Lima on the coast of Peru, an expansive community of marine invertebrates, fish and seabirds has taken up residency in a seemingly unlikely place: in the hard-bottom...
Jul. 13, 2017
A new cryopreservation study has sweeping implications for wildlife conservation and human health. In a paper published July 13 in ACS Nano, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and...
Jul. 13, 2017
In June, SCBI scientists and partners fitted the ossicones of 11 reticulated giraffes with GPS collars that send hourly data to researchers via satellite.
Jul. 13, 2017
The island scrub-jay, a songbird endemic to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of southern California, has made headlines in recent years for bucking evolutionary and biological trends—and is at it...
Jul. 13, 2017
In a shell of a paternity test story, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists found that male desert tortoises that had been relocated from a threatened habitat to a new nearby...
Jul. 12, 2017
Great Cats keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the birth of a Sumatran tiger, a critically endangered species. The cub’s mother, 8-year-old Damai, gave birth at 4:17 p.m. on...
Jul. 07, 2017
An adult female red panda and an adult female dama gazelle died at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute during the past week. Both deaths were the result of natural causes.
Jun. 30, 2017
Bornean orangutan infant Redd is 9 months old! Although he still sticks close to mom, Batang, and she keeps a watchful eye on him, he is very active and seems to enjoy exploring his surroundings.
Jun. 30, 2017
Shell-ebration is in order for the Reptile Discovery Center, where two critically endangered Bourret’s box turtles hatched for the first time in the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s history. This...
Jun. 30, 2017
Fitted with a GPS device the weight of a paperclip, a gray catbird in the Washington, D.C., area flies south, unaware that the device records its every move. That data is key for conservation...
Jun. 30, 2017
Training sloth bears, making an otter puzzle feeder and researching red pandas by studying their poop is all in a day's work for an Asia Trail keeper.
Jun. 30, 2017
How does a conservation organization stop a threat to wildlife that cannot be seen by the naked eye? They examine it under a microscope.
