Zoo News Archive
Sep. 19, 2018
Steven Monfort has been named the John and Adrienne Mars Director, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, effective Sept. 17.
Sep. 17, 2018
The façade of the Great Ape House is getting a “bee-autiful” makeover. Beginning Sept. 17, artist Matthew Willey will put paint to the popular primate exhibit, creating a larger-than-life swarm of...
Sep. 14, 2018
Moke is 5 months old! Check out primate keeper Melba Brown's latest update on our western lowland gorillas.
Sep. 13, 2018
Cheetah Conservation Station keepers are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered Dama gazelle.
Sep. 07, 2018
Western lowland gorilla Moke celebrated his mom's birthday and is learning through play, says primate keeper Melba Brown.
Sep. 06, 2018
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's seven cubs are thriving! They received a clean bill of health at their first veterinary exam.
Sep. 06, 2018
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, will host a day of science-filled activities for college and high school-aged students Saturday, Oct. 6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sep. 05, 2018
Smithsonian researchers are busy in the Peruvian Amazon monitoring wildlife around areas where pipelines, roads and other infrastructure may be built.
Sep. 05, 2018
Migratory bird conservation is taking flight at zoos and aquariums, according to a new paper published in Zoo Biology. The study outlines the role that Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited...
Sep. 03, 2018
Nearly 50 percent of the planet is covered by the high seas, referred to as the “Wild West” of the ocean and among the least protected areas in the world. In September, the United Nations will...
Aug. 31, 2018
Follow Primate Keeper Melba Brown's latest #GorillaStory update on 20-week-old western lowland gorilla Moke!
Aug. 30, 2018
As the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s great apes prepare to go to sleep, they make their beds, then settle in. Just like their wild counterparts, orangutans in zoos build cozy nests.
Aug. 30, 2018
Global Health Program veterinarian Dr. Marc Valitutto traveled to the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife center in Cuc Phuong National Park, where hundreds of confiscated pangolins are received each year for...
Aug. 30, 2018
Follow a day in the life of Virginia Working Landscapes scientists.
Aug. 30, 2018
During your next visit to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, look up—there may be a bear in the treetops! Beorn, a 1-year-old Andean bear, joined our Zoo family this summer.
Aug. 29, 2018
If you think a blind, nearly hairless rodent that lives underground can’t get much stranger, then buckle up. There’s a lot more to these weird (and wonderful) rodents than meets the eye!
Aug. 27, 2018
A new naked mole-rat exhibit featuring a colony of 17 of the “nude” rodents at the Small Mammal House will open Sept 1.
Aug. 24, 2018
Primate keeper Melba Brown says western lowland gorilla infant Moke's big (and often, humorous) personality is beginning to emerge.
Aug. 23, 2018
The iconic song of the American West, “Home on the Range,” got a key detail wrong — buffalo never roamed the region! But bison still do. Isn’t it time you learned why?
Aug. 23, 2018
On Saturday, Sept. 8, Friends of the National Zoo members can get up close with animals from The Maryland Zoo.
Aug. 22, 2018
Giant panda Bei Bei celebrated his third birthday Aug. 22 with a special ice cake.
Aug. 22, 2018
Bei Bei turned 3 years old today! In celebration of his big day, Bei Bei enjoyed an ice-cake, participated in an enrichment painting session and received a new panda-friendly enrichment toy.
Aug. 20, 2018
Twenty undergraduate students from George Mason University joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Global Health Program in the field from July 31 to Aug. 13, 2018.
Aug. 17, 2018
In her latest update, primate keeper Melba Brown shares that 4-month-old Moke is embarking on a new era of discovery.
Aug. 15, 2018
Bird House keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the hatching of two indigo bunting chicks—a first for the Zoo and the North American population in human care.