News Archive

Female Asian elephant Maharani is turning 29 years old Sunday, July 14, and we are celebrating with her favorite thing—food!

Keepers are still waiting to find out if giant panda Mei Xiang is pregnant. She has not started exhibiting many behaviors associated with the secondary hormone rise of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy.

A 2-year-old female Asian water dragon who was the first documented birth by facultative parthenogenesis in her species died from blood cancer.

Why is this mountain tapir wearing a collar? His movements and behaviors are being tracked via satellite by Smithsonian scientists!

As his name suggests, Zoo staff are “grateful” for 5-month-old male lesser kudu, Kushukuru! He was born Jan. 12, 2019, to 5-year-old first time mother Rogue and 8-year-old father Garrett.

Western lowland gorilla infant Moke is becoming bolder, and with his growing confidence, we are beginning to see traces of his mom’s personality, says assistant curator Becky Malinsky.

Lion cubs grow up fast, and even faster in zoos. In a long-term study, scientists at SCBI found that male African lions living in human care hit puberty a full year earlier than their counterparts in the wild.

Make the most of your time out of the office with a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo!

A new set of flippers splashed down at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where American Trail keepers are celebrating the arrival of a California sea lion pup. Animal care staff are closely monitoring the pup—born June 23—in an off-exhibit area.

Moonlight, a 4-year-old red panda, gave birth to a cub overnight June 12 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Moonlight and the cub appear to be doing well and keepers are cautiously optimistic that the cub will continue to grow.

Visitors to Washington, D.C., can expect warm weather and humidity this season. But not to worry — we’ve rounded up a few of the best ways to beat the heat at the Zoo this summer.

The study, which is among the first genomic studies on otters, found that both the sea otter and giant otter have lost a considerable number of genes related to the sense of smell — a faculty that is not essential underwater.

A small beak broke through one of the hooded crane eggs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, June 12.

Treat dad like the king (of the jungle) he is at the Smithsonian's National Zoo!

Large animals, like the Asian elephants, have evolved to grow and mature at a different rate than many smaller species monitored by organizations like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

We are sad to share that 4-year-old North American beaver Birch died suddenly June 3.

Read a copy of the testimony the director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute gave before House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on June 4, 2019.

With two youngsters, Moke and Redd, growing up at the Great Ape House, primate staff are taking the rare opportunity to study the gestures and spatial proximity between gorilla and orangutan mother-infant dyads.

For four years, the Reptile Discovery Center’s Asian water dragon female lived alone. Then, while examining eggs as part of a study, animal keepers made a shocking discovery—one was fertile! How could a female lay a fertile egg without a mate? They turned to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology...

Life found a way at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where a female Asian water dragon at the Reptile Discovery Center underwent facultative parthenogenesis—that is, she reproduced and contributed a healthy, thriving offspring to her species despite never breeding with a male or receiving genetic...

Education is often touted as the answer to large-scale issues like health security. But what does this actually look like on the ground? In late March, Global Health Program staff traveled to Laikipia County in Kenya to participate in community engagement and education activities.

Smithsonian veterinary research fellow Dr. Maureen Wanjiku Kamau is leading a study on wild eastern black rhinos in Kenya. Find out how her team is using poop to learn more about rhino reproduction.

The Zoo's 4-month-old North American river otter pups are gaining confidence and exploring their habitat on American Trail, says animal keeper Jackie Spicer.

A new study from SCBI and partners compares the bacterial communities (microbiome) in the gut of wild rhinos to that of those in human care, resulting in a recommendation for a health-boosting rhino diet.