Press Release Archive
An archive of press releases from Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Golden Lion Tamarin Dies at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
The National Zoo is sad to announce the death of 7-year-old golden lion tamarin Pepe, who died overnight at the Vet Hospital. A final pathology report will provide more information. The median life expectancy of a golden lion tamarin is 8 years in the wild.
A few weeks ago, keepers noticed that...
Three Cheetah Cubs Born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) welcomed three chirping cheetah cubs Friday, Oct. 16. The cubs are genetically very important for the population of cheetahs in human care. Their mother, Sanurra, is the third-most genetically valuable female in the United States. She came to...
New Study From Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Reveals Secrets of African Lion Reproduction
For the first time ever, zoos will have access to the most comprehensive information about female African lion reproduction as the result of an eight-year study from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and partners. The findings were published Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the scientific...
Eld's Deer Born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. is celebrating the birth of two male Eld's deer, an endangered species native to Myannmar. The first fawn, pictured here, was born Sept. 26 to 7-year-old mother Sherri and 6-year-old father Nam Tann. On Sept. 27, a second fawn was...
Oct. 3 and 4: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute To Host Annual Autumn Conservation Festival - CANCELLED
This weekend, Oct. 3 and 4, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Va., will open to the public for its annual Autumn Conservation Festival. Held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Festival will allow visitors to explore the scenic facility, view endangered species—such as...
Smithsonian's National Zoo Receives National Award for Excellence in Marketing
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) announced that the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute received Top Honors in marketing for budgets under $175,000 for their Endangered Song Project.
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Study Finds Forest Giants Suffer Worst During Droughts
In a study published Sept. 28 in the journal Nature Plants, a team led by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists found that bigger trees suffer the most during droughts, regardless of location or forest type. The team, including ecologists Kristina Anderson-Teixeira and Amy Bennett from SCBI, Nathan McDowell from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Craig Allen of USGS, analyzed 40 droughts in 38 forests across the globe, searching for size-related patterns in growth and mortality responses. The study included looking at the fates of hundreds of thousands of individual trees.
"This year is the hottest on record, and there are currently droughts all over the world, including the record-breaking drought in the western United States," said Anderson-Teixeira, senior author on the study. "We're currently experiencing a potentially record-breaking El Niño, which will cause droughts around the world. Trees will die, particularly the larger ones. This is an important study with very concerning present-day implications."
As the world warms, forests everywhere experience more severe droughts. It is vital to understand how these droughts affect forests and might play into a feedback loop that affects the climate. This study found that, almost without exception, the growth of large trees slowed more than that of small trees, and there were greater increases in mortality for large trees. This was true of forests worldwide, ranging from New Mexico's dry pinon-juniper woodlands to Panama's lush tropical forests. Much of the forest data used in this study came from the Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory, a global Smithsonian-led network of forest research plots.
"Many of us in the scientific community have been saying that the biggest trees in our study systems are dying," said Bennett. "But nobody has ever synthesized all the data. We combed through more than 200 studies incorporating more than 300,000 trees and found that, across the board, the big trees are dying more."
In the absence of drought, small trees typically die more than large trees, yet 65 percent of the time when there was a drought, this pattern reversed and the larger trees died more frequently. This fate had been long suspected but never quantified until now. Other isolated studies found that larger trees are more vulnerable to drought, but this study is the first to look across the globe at trees in a range of ecosystems and find, quantitatively, no matter where they grow, the larger trees tend to suffer most.
Bigger trees have the challenge of delivering water to greater heights, working against both gravity and friction. During normal conditions, their height is an advantage: it gives them the best access to sunlight. But when conditions shift and droughts occur, their height becomes a liability. Sunlight turns into too much solar radiation and heats up their leaves, and the trees do not have enough water to draw up through their roots and cool off the leaves as they normally would. In addition, the bigger trees are more exposed to wind, which increases their water loss and decreases the humidity around them.
In contrast, smaller trees in the understory are protected from high winds and direct sunlight by the trees above them. The larger trees' leaves help create a more humid microclimate, which protects the smaller trees from droughts.
Beyond this, larger trees store more carbon, which mitigates climate change; are homes to myriad smaller forest species; and can even draw water up from deep sources into the surrounding forest. They shape the whole forest. Their vulnerability during drought provides one more motivation to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change and drought.
Headquartered in Front Royal, Va., SCBI facilitates and promotes veterinary and reproductive research as well as conservation ecology programs based at Front Royal, the National Zoo and at field research stations and training sites worldwide. Its scientists are leaders in applying advanced biomedical approaches, including assisted reproductive technologies and germplasm cryopreservation, for enhancing the demographic and genetic diversity of endangered species. SCBI scientists train students to become leaders in the conservation field. The National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is a part of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and research complex.
Eld's Deer Dies at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
On September 17, an 4-year-old female Eld's deer was spooked during a semiannual fire safety check on the sprinkler system at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. The safety test produced a startling noise to which the deer reacted by running into the enclosure's...
First Ladies of US and People's Republic of China Name the Giant Panda Cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
This morning, Sept. 25, the giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Aug. 22 received his name, Bei Bei (BAY-BAY), which means precious, treasure" and is complementary to his sister's name, Bao Bao. In celebration of the state visit and as a special honor for the cub, the name was...
Weekly Giant Panda Cub Update from the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Keepers had an opportunity to weigh the 4.5 week-old giant panda cub yesterday, Sept. 21, when Mei Xiang left her den to eat. He weighs 2.95 pounds (1,339 grams) and has now surpassed both of his older siblings in size when they were the same age. At 4-and-a-half weeks old, Bao Bao weighed...
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Receives $4.5 Million to Continue Giant Panda Program
David M. Rubenstein has pledged a second $4.5 million gift to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, funding its giant panda research and conservation program through the end of 2020. The gift will support conservation efforts in China, research on giant panda...
For Media: Weekly Giant Panda Cub Update from the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Aug. 29—Mei Xiang ate for the first time since giving birth. Keepers left sugarcane in her den for her, which she chose to eat around 1 p.m. She put her cub down for a few minutes while eating, giving panda cam viewers an excellent view of him. His black markings have started coming in around his...
Giant Panda Cub Is Male and Sired By Tian Tian
Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics confirmed that the giant panda cub born Aug. 22 at the National Zoo is male. A paternity analysis showed that Tian Tian (t-YEN t-YEN) is the cub's father. Scientists also confirmed the...
Giant Panda Cub Update: August 27, 2015
Overnight, it was evident to panda keepers and veterinarians that our healthy panda cub was active and nursing appropriately throughout the night. Mother Mei Xiang is showing proper maternal care which includes short sleep cycles and adjusting the tiny cub in her arms for better positioning and...
National Zoo Announces Giant Panda Cubs' Gender and Paternity
WHAT:The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will announce the gender and paternity of the giant panda cubs born at the Zoo Aug. 22. The smaller of the two cubs died Aug. 26. Initial necropsy findings for the deceased cub will be shared.
WHEN:9 a.m.
WHERE:The entrance to...
Press Conference: Giant Panda Cub Death at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
WHAT:The smaller giant panda cub died this afternoon shortly after 2 p.m. More information will be provided at a press conference. The larger cub appears to be strong, robust, behaving normally and is with mother Mei Xiang.
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 26, 4 p.m.
WHERE:Panda Plaza, 3001 Connecticut Avenue N...
One of the Giant Panda Cubs at the National Zoo Has Died
The smaller of the two giant panda cubs born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Aug. 22, died shortly after 2 p.m. today, Aug. 26. The panda team rotated both cubs in the past 24 hours allowing each to benefit from spending time with their mother, Mei Xiang. The smaller cub was with Mei Xiang from...
Smithsonian's National Zoo Giant Panda Cub Update - Aug. 25
Mei Xiang has not been a willing participant in the panda team's efforts to switch the cubs since 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. She has the larger cub in her possession. The panda team is caring for the smaller cub and will continue efforts to swap the cubs about every four hours. However, because the...
Smithsonian's National Zoo Giant Panda Cub Update
Our panda cubs are doing well but the panda team had a challenging night. When they tried to swap the cubs at 11p.m., Mei Xiang would not set down the cub she had in her possession. Consequently, the panda team cared for the smaller cub throughout the night until 7:05 a.m. when they successfully...
Giant Panda Cub Update
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute confirms the first giant panda cub born at 5:35 p.m. and a second giant panda cub was born at 10:07 p.m., Aug, 22. Shortly after the second birth, a panda team of three keepers retrieved one of the cubs per the Zoo's Giant Panda Twin...
Giant Panda Cub Born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) gave birth to a cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo today, Aug. 22. The panda team witnessed the birth at 5:35 pm. Mei Xiang reacted to the cub by picking it up. The panda team began preparing for a birth when they saw Mei Xiang's water break at 4:32 pm and she...
Veterinarians Viewed Surprising Giant Panda Ultrasound at Smithsonian's National Zoo
For the first time at the National Zoo, veterinarians detected something new during an ultrasound procedure this morning on giant panda Mei Xiang. They believe it is a developing giant panda fetus. Based on the size of the fetus, which is about four centimeters, veterinarians estimate that Mei Xiang...
Critically Endangered Black-Footed Ferret Diversity Improved by Using Frozen Sperm for Assisted Reproduction
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) has been a leader in black-footed ferret conservation since a small population of this solitary, nocturnal carnivore was discovered in 1981. SCBI received offspring from the species' surviving 18 individuals and was the first institution to breed...