News Archive

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. 

Modern technology is helping unravel the mystery of how migratory birds achieve their amazing flights. Researchers are already finding that many birds fly farther, faster and higher than they thought.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and partners have become the first to use cryopreserved (frozen) coral sperm to support gene migration of Caribbean coral populations that would otherwise remain geographically and genetically isolated.

From the first bird-tracking study to technology 100 years later, scientists finally know where black-crowned night herons travel.

During your next visit to Smithsonian’s National Zoo, be on the lookout for two friendly new faces at Lemur Island! Three-year-old collared lemur brothers Bentley and Beemer made their debut at the end of July. 

Ungulate keepers recently welcomed a female Persian onager foal to the herd! Get the update from Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ungulate keeper Tara Buk.

With an aggressive attitude, an eager appetite for fish and the ability to “walk” on land, the northern snakehead fish is a powerful predator. Recently, Asia Trail keepers welcomed four snakeheads—one male and three females—into their care. 

September 26 marks 40 years since black-footed ferrets were re-discovered in the wild, kick-starting today’s breeding and reintroduction program. Find out what it takes to care for Zoo Guardians' September Animal of the Month and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s black-footed ferrets from...

Some new hooves joined the lesser kudu family this year, and two calves have grown up and moved to a new habitat at the Cheetah Conservation Station! Get the full update in this Q&A with animal keeper Kristen Clark and assistant curator Gil Myers.

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear GPS-enabled backpacks and have feathers. Wildlife ecologist Joe Kolowski is studying the breeding ranges of kestrels by fitting them with tiny tracking backpacks. Learn more in this Q&A.

Last Saturday, Aug. 21, was a big day for our “little miracle.” Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrated his first birthday and shared not one but two delicious fruitsicle cakes with his mother, Mei Xiang.

In the eastern part of North America, purple martins nest in groups of plastic gourds hung by bird enthusiasts. Each year, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's bird team prepares nest gourds for a large colony of martins and monitors the birds throughout the breeding season.

We are sad to share that Dogo, the last meerkat at the Small Mammal House, was humanely euthanized Aug. 23. At 14 years old, he lived four years beyond the median life expectancy for meerkats.

Each August, the Black-footed Ferret Species Survival Plan assesses the entire black-footed ferret population in human care and determines where the ferrets should go next: to the wild or a breeding center! Read on to get Aspen, Swifty and Aster's full three month update and find out which path the...

This morning, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute celebrated giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji’s (SHIAU-chi-ji) first birthday with a specially tailored fruitsicle cake.

Media are invited to a presentation of panda-friendly fruitsicle cakes to giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji, his mother Mei Xiang and father Tian Tian. RSVP required, not open to the public.

Ungulate keepers and scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, are celebrating the birth of two scimitar-horned oryx calves born via non-surgical artificial insemination. A male calf was born July 9 to 6-year-old female Esmerelda, and a female calf...

One year ago, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed Xiao Qi Ji—a precious giant panda born in the midst of a global pandemic. As the giant panda team prepares to celebrate his first birthday Aug. 21, take a look back at his top 12 milestones that left panda fans around the world in awe and ‘aww.’

One of the exciting challenges Bird House keepers have had to tackle during construction is how to help our birds feel “at home” even though they are living in temporary housing. The solution: bring the outdoors indoors!

The last time European glass lizards hatched at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, it was 1996. Fast forward to today, and 25 years later those hatchlings are adults and—for the first time—have produced offspring of their own.