News Archive

By Lauren Augustine I bet you didn't know that we train our crocodiles—that's right crocodiles can learn! We use operant conditioning techniques much like the mammal and bird keepers at the Zoo. There are a few reasons keepers at the Reptile Discovery Center use operant conditioning to train the...

In a new study, SCBI's Paul Weldon and University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor Gordon Burghardt propose that conspicuous organisms arise when predator and prey populations interact. Conspicuous prey organisms are favored when predators, by chance, recognize and avoid their novel appearance...

What does it take to keep up with a sextuplet of juvenile African lions? In the latest Keeper Q & A, Rebecca Stites and Kristen Clark dish on the cats' quirky personalities, training triumphs, and big changes to come. As the cubs grow, how do they behave toward their parents and each other? The...

Tomorrow is World Turtle day. The Smithsonian's National Zoo is celebrating a conservation milestone; for the first time, a rare spider tortoise has hatched in the Reptile Discovery Center. Animal care staff are closely monitoring the hatchling, which emerged May 10 in an off-exhibit area. Staff...

This keeper update was written by Kenton Kerns. If you've visited the Small Mammal House in the last two weeks, you may have noticed that our female tamandua Cayenne now has a male companion! Eight-year-old Manny arrived at the Zoo in March and, after a routine period in quarantine, he was...

By Lauren Augustine Today we collected the Holy Grail of crocodile eggs! Dorothy, our oldest Cuban crocodile, laid 24 eggs! Unlike our other two Cuban crocodile females, Dorothy digs a hole nest, making it difficult to find the eggs. If you remember from my first blog, our other two females build...

WHAT:Free public symposium celebrates the late Dr. Theodore Reed, his vision and lasting legacy for the modern zoo. There will also be a daytime academic symposium on May 21 that is open to the public from 1p.m. to 5p.m. Details on both these events are on the National Zoo's website ( http:/...

As part of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's ongoing collaboration with our Chinese panda colleagues, panda keeper Becky Malinsky and I were able to spend 10 days visiting three giant panda bases earlier this spring. The first two we visited, Bifengxia and...

For the first time, a team from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's (SCBI) Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability collected photo evidence of an Andean bear (also known as the spectacled bear) in Peru's Amarakaeri Comunal Reserve using camera traps—automated cameras with...

The Small Mammal House recently welcomed a one-year-old male fennec fox named Charlie! He is on loan to the National Zoo from the Bronx Zoo as part of a Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation with 5-year-old female Daisy. Biologist Kenton Kerns shares the scoop on the Zoo's new fennec fox in...

By Lauren Augustine Our Chinese alligator built a large mound nest! She is using hay provided by keepers a few weeks ago. When we checked on her this morning she seemed to be guarding the nest. Because she is aggressively defending her nest, two keepers entered the exhibit to retrieve the eggs. One...

By Lauren Augustine Today one of our most endangered species, the Chinese alligator, started nesting! Around the back of the Reptile Discovery Center are three outdoor exhibits, one of which is home to the Chinese alligators. Keeper staff added a bale of hay to the exhibit in April to prepare for...

By using DNA extracted from sloth bear scat, a team of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) researchers found that forest corridors between protected areas in the bears' native habitats are vital to maintaining a genetically diverse population. The team, including John Seidensticker...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo is hosting two fun and educational events in celebration of International Migratory Bird Day.

By Lauren Augustine Rose, one of our three female Cuban crocodiles started nesting last week, though we don't expect any to hatch. She is enormous! She used her back legs to kick all the mulch, leaf litter and dirt in the exhibit into a large mound for her nest. This morning she looked as though she...

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute received a very special delivery in February 2015 from the SVF Foundation: a 1,400 pound tank carrying more than 30,000 biomaterials! The "Smithsonian & SVF Biodiversity Preservation Project" aims to preserve and study the frozen germplasm (embryos...

A free-standing kiosk at the Smithsonian's National Zoo enables visitors to gain a better understanding of the impact of wildlife trafficking. As the exhibit travels around the Zoo, the content will change to pertain to animals in the Zoo's living collection. It will highlight the steps visitors can...

Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ( SCBI) have generated mature sperm from frozen testicular tissue for the first time.

Our rambunctious 5-month-old Andean bear cub brothers Mayni and Muniri are on exhibit and on the move! Curator Craig Saffoe gives an update on the cubs in the latest Q & A. What are Mayni and Muniri's favorite activities? They both seem to love climbing to the top of the Mulberry trees in the yard...

After carefully monitoring the behavior of both its giant pandas and female Mei Xiang's (may-SHONG) hormones for weeks, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed two artificial inseminations within...

After carefully monitoring the behavior of both its giant pandas and female Mei Xiang's (may-SHONG) hormones for weeks, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed two artificial inseminations within...

Caitlin Burrell, research scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, returned from China last night April 20, with frozen giant panda semen that had been stored at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base's cryopreservation bank. The sperm may be used for an artificial insemination on the...