News Archive

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.

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! 

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!

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...

Six African lions, a Sumatran tiger and two Amur tigers have tested presumptive positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Last weekend, animal keepers observed decreased appetites, coughing, sneezing and lethargy in several lions and tigers. Fecal samples for all great cats were collected and...

Members of the Zoo Neighborhood Council received this correspondence Sept. 16, 2021. 

If you have visited the Zoo during the summer, then you know it can get hot, muggy and buggy here in Washington, D.C.! Find out how keepers use enrichment to help animals stay cool in the heat.

Sometimes, science stinks — literally! In Montana, researchers are setting up “scat traps" to attract swift foxes, so they can learn from the droppings the foxes leave behind.

Our youngest Bornean orangutan, Redd, celebrated his fifth birthday Sept. 12! Primate keeper Erin Stromberg looks back at some of her favorite moments from the past year in her latest #OrangutanStory update.