News Archive

Zoo keeping is an ever-evolving science. That's why director Dennis Kelly and associate director of animal care sciences Brandie Smith traveled to India to collaborate, understand, and protect endangered species. This story appears in the June 2016 issue of National Zoo News. Want animal tales...

The Bird House's redhead ducks share their exhibit with some skittish neighbors—flamingos. To monitor the duck's health without disturbing the other birds, keepers have trained them to come inside for a physical (and some treats) on cue. Get the scoop from keeper Gwen Cooper in the latest Keeper Q &...

For the first time, an egg laid by a female brown kiwi at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute hatched on May 10, 2016.

Eight-year-old North American male porcupine Quillby has had some difficulty moving around his exhibit lately. How do we determine what's ailing him? Teamwork! Zoo veterinarian Jessica Siegal-Willott and biologist Leigh Pitsko collaborated with colleagues at the Friendship Hospital for Animals to...

On exhibit for the first time in the Washington, D.C. region, the Smithsonian's National Zoo presents Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea from May 27 through Sept. 5. Made completely of plastic debris collected from beaches, the colorful and dramatic sculptures of marine animals represent the more...

Spring migration banding at the Clive Runnell's Mad Island Marsh Preserve.

Examining a hormone-signaling pathway thought to underlie variation in social behavior and subsequent network structure in a cooperative lek-breeding bird, the wire-tailed manakin.

What: A free public event, "World Oceans Day," will feature ocean-themed animal demonstrations, games, crafts, and "Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea" exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. When: Saturday, June 11, 2016 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Where: Smithsonian's National Zoo 3001 Connecticut Ave. N...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo's red panda habitat on Asia Trail reopened to the public Tuesday, May 10. Tusa (male) and Asa (female) explored their new home which has a brand new "retreat." The retreat includes four indoor enclosures complete with air-conditioning and heating. The retreat has a...

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is mourning the loss of a 6-year-old female maned wolf named Uno, who died May 7. A final pathology report will provide more information, but her health had been in decline for several months due to liver and bowel disease. Despite treatment, Uno...

The maned wolf pups born Jan. 5 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are growing! Animal Care curator Paul Marinari and research biologist Nucharin Songsassen give us the scoop in the latest SCBI Q & A. This story appears in the May 2016 issue of National Zoo News. Want animal tales...

WHAT: Media preview of red pandas Tusa and Asa in their newly refurbished habitat on Asia Trail WHEN: Tuesday, May 10 at 10 a.m. WHERE: Smithsonian's National Zoo 3001 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Park in the bus parking lot in the left lane perpendicular to the bushes. Entering the Zoo from the...

The Bird House's male Baltimore oriole seems to prefer the company of people to his fellow migratory birds. To help him socialize, keeper Jordana Todd is teaching him some husbandry behaviors that help animal care staff care for him, such as landing on her arm, showing his body parts, and entering a...

Eight-week-old Allen's swamp monkey Zawadi is on the move. Over the past few weeks, biologist Becky Malinsky has watched the baby—whose name means "gift" in Swahili—become more independent. Zawadi has splashed in the water, sampled mom's food, and she's even hitched a ride on one of the Schmidt's...

Small Mammal House keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are celebrating the birth of three critically endangered red-ruffed lemurs born April 5 to 6-year-old mother Molly. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan recommended that Molly breed with the Zoo's 7-year-old red...

Bei Bei's still growing like a weed! He was 37 pounds as of March 17 and growing daily. We have started very basic training with him.

Breeding season for our Cuban crocodiles ended in March, but staff continue to train the crocodiles to shift off exhibit. The hope is that when a keeper calls aloud for the crocs to shift, all of them will walk to the holding area in the back of their exhibit. Once they are in the holding, the doors...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo lifted its temporary quarantine on the Kids' Farm exhibit that has been in effect since Feb. 26 after E. coli stx 1 gene bacteria was discovered in a few of the animals. After seven weeks of quarantine, no animals showed any sign of disease associated with the E. coli...

For the first time, scimitar-horned oryx are going to be reintroduced to the wild in Chad. Extinct in the wild since the mid-1980s, the species' return is the result of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the government of Chad's Scimitar-horned Oryx Reintroduction Program. Researchers from...

Researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) and partners are celebrating the start of migration this month with a single long-billed curlew they outfitted with a satellite tag in December 2015.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) lost a senior male black-footed ferret following a routine procedure Wednesday, April 6. Staff were assessing whether the male was reproductively ready for the 2016 breeding season. Initial necropsy information indicates that the black-footed...

On March 17 around 10:55 a.m., a contractor was performing routine maintenance on the life support system (LSS) located between the otter and beaver habitats on the American Trail exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The LSS building houses the water-processing equipment for various filtration...

Officials from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the Central Zoo Authority from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Republic of India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today, March 17, to launch an advanced professional...

Jose Escoto has been named associate director for Finance and Administration at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., effective today. As head of Finance and Administration, Escoto will assist Zoo director Dennis Kelly in the overall planning...

Primate keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are celebrating the birth of an Allen's swamp monkey, born overnight March 9 to 9-year-old mother Layla. The baby was sired by 15-year-old father Nub Armstrong. Animal care staff are leaving Layla to bond with and care for her baby without...