News Archive

Thank you for expressing your appreciation for the National Zoo's Invertebrate Exhibit and your concern about its closing. We value your feedback and would like to clarify why we have made this very difficult decision. When the Invertebrate Exhibit opened in 1987, it was a groundbreaking venue. As...

The National Zoo's new three female Asian elephants—Kamala (39), Swarna (39) and Maharani (23)—will be out of quarantine and will have their public debut outside for the first time Monday, June 23.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo Invertebrate Exhibit, home to dozens of small aquatic and terrestrial species without backbones, will close to the public Sunday, June 22. The last day to visit the Invertebrate Exhibit is Saturday, June 21. This difficult decision is not a reflection of the importance...

The four youngest members of the African lion pride at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are making their public debut today at noon at the Great Cats Exhibit. Born March 2 to mother Shera and father Luke, the 14-week-old cubs passed their swim test in May and have received all their vaccinations. They...

The four youngest members of the African lion pride at the Smithsonian's National Zoo are making their public debut today at noon at the Great Cats Exhibit! Born March 2 to mother Shera and father Luke, the 14-week-old cubs passed their swim test in May and have received all their vaccinations. They...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute celebrated several births recently. During the past several weeks 31 new residents have been born, many of which were endangered species. A short-eared elephant shrew was born May 8 at the Zoo's Small Mammal House. The short-eared...

Asian elephants Kamala (39), Swarna (39) and Maharani (23) arrived safely at the Smithsonian's National Zoo at 10:55 a.m. They are on loan from the Calgary Zoo in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and will join the Zoo's herd of four Asian elephants Ambika (66), Shanthi (39), Bozie (38) and Kandula (12)...

When did the elephants leave the Calgary Zoo? Tuesday May 20, 2014 at 2:30p.m. How do you move an elephant? Custom-made, 10,000-pound elephant-sized travel crates will keep the females contained and safe while on the move. Calgary Zoo keepers worked slowly and diligently to ensure that the elephants...

This update was written by animal keeper Erin Stromberg. Kyle and Batang—our 17-year-old Bornean orangutans—came to the Smithsonian's National Zoo several years ago. At that time, they were too young to breed; but we hoped that we would receive a breeding recommendation when they came of age. We are...

We've received many questions from our many curious panda fans! In this panda update, keeper Nicole MacCorkle answers questions we have received. What is in the paper bags that you give the pandas? Keepers put enrichment items in brown paper bags for the pandas. The bears rip open the bags and find...

As part of the Worldwide InstaMeet and the National Zoo's ongoing 125th anniversary celebration, the Zoo invites Instagrammers from across the Washington, D.C., region to help create a digital “weekend in the life of the Zoo” portrait all day Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18. Instagrammers...

The #EndangeredSong campaign continued this evening at the Smithsonian's National Zoo with a free stripped-down concert by Portugal. The Man. It was the first time the band had performed the #EndangeredSong, titled "Sumatran Tiger," for a live audience. The song will become part of their set list...

Four African lion cubs took a brisk paddle today and passed their swim reliability test. The cubs—three males and one female—were born at the Zoo March 2. All cubs born at the Great Cats exhibit must undergo the swim reliability test and prove that they are ready to be on exhibit. All four cats were...

WHAT: Portgual. The Man will perform a free stripped down concert at the Smithsonian's National Zoo as part of the #EndangeredSong campaign. WHEN: Monday, May 12 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. (Please note: The band goes on promptly at 6:30 p.m. Media may arrive at 5:30 p.m.) WHERE: Band Shell at Lion/Tiger...

Four African lion cubs took a brisk paddle at the Smithsonian's National Zoo today and passed their swim reliability test. The cubs--three males and one female--were born at the Zoo March 2. All cubs born at the Great Cats exhibit must undergo the swim reliability test and prove that they are ready...

Four month-old sloth bear cub, Remi, ventured outside for the very first time this morning with her surrogate bear moms and dad! She quickly began exploring her outdoor yard with keepers nearby. They were happy to report that she did very well during her first trip outside, climbing and playing, but...

WHAT:Four 9-week-old African lion cubs will take a swim reliability test (weather permitting) prior to their public debut in June. Following the swim test, two 14-week-old lion cubs will venture into a nearby exhibit as part of their yard introduction process. The older litter will debut to the...

Asian elephants Kamala (39), Swarna (39) and Maharani (23) arrived safely at the Smithsonian's National Zoo on May 23, 2014. They are on loan from the Calgary Zoo in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and will join the Zoo's herd of four Asian elephants Ambika (66), Shanthi (39), Bozie (38) and Kandula (12)...

The lion cubs are all doing quite well! Naba's girls weigh about 30 pounds now, and Shera's cubs range from 19 to 20.5 pounds. Shera's cub that had the limp is showing great improvement. His limp is very slight, and his blood-work came back normal this week. In fact, he seems to be outcompeting his...

A six-year-old male brown kiwi named Koa died during the weekend at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. He had not exhibited any warning signs of clinical illness and was found dead in his exhibit unexpectedly the morning of April 26 at the Bird House. As is standard procedure a necropsy, or animal...

Sumatran Tiger cubs Bandar and Sukacita turn nine months old on May 5—how time flies! One sign that they are making the transition from cubs to sub-adults is that both have started to lose their "baby" incisor teeth. Their adult fangs will take a few months to grow out. It's all a part of growing up...

This update was written by animal keeper Kristen Clark. Today, the cubs met face-to-face with Luke for the first time! Introductions are always tense the first time you do them, but we always try to base it on positive behaviors we've seen in the past and experiences we've had in the past. We've...

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and National Zoo announced today, Earth Day, the launch of the Endangered Song Project, an analog-meets-digital awareness campaign that calls upon 400 participants to use their social media strength to spread the message that there are only 400 Sumatran...

It's been a busy few weeks at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat. Bao Bao is now going outside with Mei Xiang regularly in the morning. She has been busy exploring, and Smithsonian Channel captured her first attempt at climbing a tree. Now she climbs high in the trees in Mei Xiang's...

A sloth bear cub and a seal pup by any other name would still be as sweet, but our keepers chose the perfect names for them. Our sloth bear cub is named Remi and our seal pup is named Rona! Asia Trail keepers who have been hand-rearing our sloth bear cub chose the name Remi. The name is derived from...