Press Releases
Dec. 13, 2017
A new study from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is helping to make headway in an area of animal management that has historically proven challenging: the breeding of cheetahs under... read press release
Dec. 06, 2017
ZooLights visitors will have the opportunity to attend GRUMP, a European-style outdoor market, Dec. 15, 16 and 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m... read press release
Nov. 30, 2017
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... read press release
Nov. 20, 2017
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... read press release
Nov. 15, 2017
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... read press release
Nov. 03, 2017
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.... read press release
Nov. 01, 2017
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... read press release
Oct. 30, 2017
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,... read press release
Oct. 26, 2017
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... read press release
Oct. 25, 2017
Small Mammal House keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed a baby prehensile-tailed porcupine Oct 19. read press... read press release
Oct. 17, 2017
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. ... read press release
Oct. 17, 2017
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... read press release
Oct. 13, 2017
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... read press release
Oct. 12, 2017
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... read press release
Oct. 05, 2017
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... read press release
Sep. 27, 2017
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... read press release
Sep. 26, 2017
The Smithsonian's National Zoo is mourning the loss of 12-year-old alpaca, Ziggy, who died Sept. 23. read press release
Sep. 25, 2017
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... read press release
Sep. 21, 2017
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... read press release
Sep. 14, 2017
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.... read press release