News Archive

Potpie's three kits turned 1 month old on Saturday, June 19. This birthday is marked by their darkening fur, including the distinctive dark-furred feet and mask! Read on for the full update on our black-footed ferret kits.

How do you create a menu that is pleasing to the palates of giant pandas, flamingos and fishing cats?

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists are one step closer to understanding why some corals can weather climate change better than others, and the secret could be in a specific protein that produces a natural sunscreen.

From the deepest trenches to the shallowest shores and across five basins, water circulates in one interconnected system: the world ocean. This World Ocean Day, discover how seemingly different animals — sessil coral and soaring seabirds — are connected to each other, to a changing climate and to...

Whooping cranes are graceful, expressive and curious creatures. Get acquainted with these big, beautiful birds in this Q+A with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute keeper Chris Crowe.

Slow down with Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s three southern two-toed sloths. Keeper Kara Ingraham works with Athena and Vlad in the Small Mammal House, and keeper Denny Charlton tends to Howie in Amazonia. Find out what it takes to care for these unique animals!

Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, are welcoming a litter of endangered black-footed ferret kits. Three-year-old female Potpie has birthed one kit already, which was born at 3:41 p.m. and can be viewed via the Black-Footed Ferret Cam.

Local songbirds will take advantage of the abundance of cicadas, something Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientists are eager to study.

In new study, Smithsonian scientists and partners provide a framework for a new approach to modeling infectious diseases. It adapts established methods developed to study the planet’s natural systems, including climate change, ocean circulation and forest growth, and applies them to parasites and...

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji is branching out into new places to play! Get the scoop in assistant curator Laurie Thompson’s latest #PandaStory update.

When visitors return to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute May 21, they will find both familiar and new faces as they explore the park.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has long championed the simple idea that birds matter. When we take care of birds, we take care of the interconnected natural systems that we all depend upon for survival.

The Bornean subspecies of Rajah scops owl ( Otus brookii brookii), documented in the wild for the first time since 1892, may be its own unique species and deserving of a conservation designation. Published April 28, in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center ecologist...

'Hoppy' Amphibian Awareness Week! All week long, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will be sharing stories about amazing amphibians and the scientists working to save them from extinction.

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji is very engaged with his surroundings! Soon, he will start husbandry training, enabling him to participate in his own healthcare. See more videos in keeper Mariel Lally’s #PandaStory update.

Crash into May with black rhinos! Dr. Francesca Vitali is a wildlife veterinarian and Morris Animal Foundation postdoctoral fellow with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Global Health Program. She is currently working with our Smithsonian partners in Kenya to help conserve Eastern...

Spring’s arrival brought about some big changes in the life of our 9-month-old Hartmann’s mountain zebra colt, Yipes.

Standing eye-to-eye with a southern cassowary, it is easy to see how this giant bird is considered the dinosaurs’ closest living relative. In October 2020, we took two of these avian ambassadors under our wing: brothers Irwin and Dundee.

How do animal keepers take a blood sample from an elephant or examine a big cat's teeth? Find out how training helps keepers care for animals that they can't share a physical space with in this update.

The 17-year Brood X cicadas are here and for some Zoo animals it's the beginning of a tasty bug buffet.

Cheetah Conservation Station keepers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the arrival of a male lesser kudu calf, who was born Mar. 29 to 7-year-old mother Rogue and 10-year-old father Garrett.

The Smithsonian announced today that the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, along with seven other museums, will reopen to the public soon. We are thrilled to welcome you and your constituents back to the Zoo Friday, May 21.

The Smithsonian will reopen eight of its facilities to the public in May, starting with the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, Wednesday, May 5. Additional museums and the National Zoo will open Friday, May 14, and Friday, May 21.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 19-23, 2021), carves out a much-deserved moment of time to recognize volunteer service.

In a playful battle over bamboo, Mei Xiang is always victorious. Get the latest news on our giant panda mother and her cub, Xiao Qi Ji, in keeper Nicole MacCorkle’s #PandaStory update.