Press Release Archive

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute hatched two Guam rail chicks earlier this month. The hatchings are a boon for the species, which is currently classified as “extinct in the wild” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN), although there are small populations that...

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Director Dennis Kelly plans to retire after a temporary appointment as the interim president of Smithsonian Enterprises. Effective Monday, Nov. 27, 2017, Steven Monfort will become acting director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and...

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in collaboration with CulturalDC, will host Washington, D.C.’s first mobile art gallery during ZooLights, powered by Pepco, the Zoo’s annual free holiday lights festival from Nov. 24 through Jan. 1 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31).

For the first time in nine years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is making preparations for the highly anticipated birth of a critically endangered western lowland gorilla.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, and the Embassy of New Zealand in the United States are asking animal lovers to help name an endangered female brown kiwi chick.

As global warming, acidification and disease threaten a healthy future for the world’s coral reefs, conservationists in recent years have turned to the lab to study advanced reproductive methods, especially cryopreservation—or the freezing of coral eggs, sperm and other material—as a tool to produce...

ZooLights—powered by Pepco—at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is wilder than ever and a perfect holiday event for everyone in the family. Now in its 11th year, the annual free lights festival twinkles for 36 nights—from Nov. 24 through Jan. 1, 2018 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Small Mammal House keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed a baby prehensile-tailed porcupine Oct 19.

Tuyen, a 10-year-old female white-cheeked gibbon at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, was humanely euthanized Oct. 12, after suffering from progressive neurologic disease and acute seizures.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo recently welcomed a new sloth bear into its zoological family. Niko, a 2-year-old male, arrived Oct. 6 from NaturZoo Rheine in Germany and joins 3-year-old female sloth bear Remi at the Zoo’s Asia Trail exhibit.

In 2016, the international import of 201 salamander species into the United States was restricted in an effort to prevent the newly discovered deadly salamander fungal disease, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), from entering the country. In a new study, Smithsonian Conservation Biology...

We are sad to share that one of red panda Nutmeg’s cubs born June 14 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, was euthanized Oct. 4. Keepers rushed her to the veterinary hospital after they noticed that she was minimally responsive and had lost weight since her...

The Amazonia Exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is buzzing with a current from a brand-new Electric Fishes Demonstration Lab, opening Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. The multisensory lab is home to a 5-foot-long electric eel, capable of generating up to 800 volts of electricity, four black ghost knifefish...

Two female Guam rails born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, were released to the wild in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Sept. 18. This month’s release marks the first time since 1985 that there are more Guam rails in the wild than in human...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo is mourning the loss of 12-year-old alpaca, Ziggy, who died Sept. 23.

The 3,200-acre Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Va.—which is the headquarters for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s conservation science initiatives and is normally closed to the public—will open its gates Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Conservation...

The Cheetah Conservation Station at the Smithsonian's National Zoo is celebrating a baby boom of critically endangered dama gazelles. Three calves were born Aug. 30, Sept. 16 and Sept. 18 to mothers Adara, Fahima and Zafirah, respectively.

The giant panda team at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has determined that Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) will not give birth this year.

On Sept. 13, Smithsonian scientists and partners published a groundbreaking new book, "Genetic Management of Fragmented Animal and Plant Populations," which addresses one of today's greatest conservation challenges.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo transported its 9-week-old male Sumatran tiger cub to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where he will live and thrive with another young male tiger cub.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is hosting Enrichment Day Sept. 16, ZooFiesta Sept. 24 and Conservation Discovery Day Oct. 7.

After a five-year hiatus, Cheetah Conservation Station keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered dama gazelle. The male calf was born in an off-exhibit enclosure Aug. 30.

ZooLights—powered by Pepco—at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is wilder than ever and a perfect holiday event for everyone in the family. Now in its 11th year, the annual free lights festival twinkles from Nov. 24 through Jan. 1, 2018 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed two screaming hairy armadillo pups Aug. 11. The pups are the first ever born at the Zoo.