Press Release Archive

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is mourning the loss of a 12-year-old male cheetah named Shombay, who died July 18. A final pathology report will provide more information, but his health had been in decline for the past few months. In February, an X-ray detected a growth in Shombay's...

Yesterday shortly after 7 p.m., a male agouti escaped from his outdoor enclosure behind the Small Mammal House at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Agoutis are large beautiful rodents about the size of a large house cat. Zoo staff kept the animal in view and successfully herded him back into a...

The Board of Directors of Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) is pleased to announce that Lynn Mento has been named Executive Director. Lynn brings extensive leadership experience in marketing and membership-skills that FONZ believes position her very well to lead the organization to and through the...

For only the second time, a litter of clouded leopard cubs has been born as the result of an artificial insemination. Pierre Comizzoli, reproductive physiologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), performed the artificial insemination in Thailand last March alongside Paweena...

Ten loggerhead shrikes hatched last month at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Va. These genetically valuable chicks will be the first SCBI-hatched shrikes to be released into the wild, helping to bolster native populations. Hatched May 3, May 7 and May 8 to three...

For the first time, researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Migratory Bird Center have tracked small migratory ovenbirds ( Seiurus aurocapilla) to their tropical wintering grounds with unparalleled accuracy.

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...

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:/...

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...

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.

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.

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...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is mourning the loss of a 12-year-old female maned wolf named Salina, who died April 18. A histopathology report will provide more information in the coming weeks, though a necropsy revealed a large mass within her abdomen. The median...

Calaya, a western lowland gorilla, is now on exhibit at the National Zoo. Keepers describe the 12-year-old female as confident and socially-savvy. She arrived at the National Zoo from the Woodland Park Zoo on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' western lowland...

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientists working together as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project opened a new safe haven for endangered amphibians today, April 8.

The National Zoo's rambunctious and charismatic 19-week-old Andean bear cubs have names. In a poll conducted on the Zoo's website, fans elected to name Cub 1 Mayni [MY-nee], a moniker that in the Aymara language means "unique." The name selected for Cub 2 was Muniri [moo-NEE-ree], which means...

Brandie Smith has been named associate director of Animal Care Sciences at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., effective immediately. Since 2008, Smith has served as a senior curator of mammals and the curator of giant pandas at the National Zoo. In her new role, Smith will lead the...

WHAT:Two male Andean bear cubs will receive their names and make their media debut; the public debut is Saturday, March 28 WHEN: Thursday, March 26 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m.: Media arrival and set-up WHERE:Andean Bear exhibit (bottom of the Zoo between Amazonia and American Trail) 3001...

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) found unique communities of skin bacteria on Panamanian golden frogs that survived chytridiomycosis (ki-TRID-io-MY-co-sis) infections. Chytridiomycosis is an...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo, in collaboration with Univision's ¡Despierta America!, is inviting the public to name two rambunctious and charismatic 18-week-old male Andean bear cubs. Starting today, March 16, fans can vote on the Zoo's website for their favorite among names reflecting the...

El Zoológico Nacional del Smithsonian, en colaboración con ¡Despierta América! de Univision, invita al público a elegir los nombres para dos revoltosos y carismáticos oseznos andinos machos de 18 semanas de edad. Desde hoy, 16 de marzo, las personas pueden votar en el sitio web del zoológico por sus...