Press Releases
Jun. 01, 2017
Ninety Limosa harlequin frogs bred in human care are braving the elements of the wild after Smithsonian scientists sent them out into the Panamanian rainforest as part of their first-ever release... read more
May. 26, 2017
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed two artificial inseminations on female giant panda Mei... read more
May. 24, 2017
Four years after conservationists relocated 570 desert tortoises in California from a threatened habitat to a nearby location, the tortoises outwardly appeared to have successfully acclimated.... read more
May. 18, 2017
The loss of intact forest cover in Myanmar has accelerated over the past decade, according to a study by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists and partners published May 17 in... read more
May. 17, 2017
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is celebrating the upcoming Endangered Species Day (May 19) with a slew of new births of endangered and vulnerable species. The births have... read more
May. 03, 2017
The period of a migratory bird’s annual cycle thought to be the most perilous—its twice-annual journeys over oceans and inhospitable landscapes—is also the least understood. A new collaborative study... read more
Apr. 27, 2017
The ability of some conifer forests to recover after severe fire may become increasingly limited as the climate continues to warm, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists found... read more
Apr. 12, 2017
Smithsonian scientists have discovered two new gecko species, the Lenya banded bent-toed gecko and Tenasserim Mountain bent-toed gecko, in the little-studied lowland forests of Myanmar.... read more
Apr. 10, 2017
Keepers at the National Zoo’s Small Mammal House are mourning the loss of Zikki, a golden-headed lion tamarin who was humanely euthanized April 8. At 17 years old, Zikki was considered geriatric for... read more
Apr. 05, 2017
The start of spring brought a cheetah cub boom to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, where two large litters were born over the course of a single week... read more
Mar. 23, 2017
After a ten-year hiatus, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute repatriated three female Guam rails to their native Guam. The birds, referred to as ko’ko’ locally, departed Virginia on Sunday... read more
Mar. 22, 2017
Tool use by sea otters to break open well-armored food is not necessarily a family matter, according to a new study published this week by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and... read more
Mar. 10, 2017
The Smithsonian's National Zoo is celebrating Easter Monday: A Washington Family Tradition (April 17), Earth Optimism Summit (April 21 - 23), Earth Optimism Day (April 22) and International Migratory... read more
Mar. 09, 2017
The Smithsonian will convene the first Earth Optimism Summit, a three-day event featuring more than 150 scientists, thought leaders, philanthropists, conservationists and civic leaders, which will... read more
Mar. 02, 2017
On March 1, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the Nashville Zoo announced the birth of a male clouded leopard from an artificial insemination procedure using... read more
Mar. 02, 2017
Using new and minute technology, Smithsonian scientists have, for the first time ever, tracked one of North America’s rarest birds―the Kirtland’s warbler―throughout its full annual cycle, revealing... read more
Feb. 22, 2017
Giant panda Bao Bao and Zoo staff landed at China’s Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport around 6:59 p.m.
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Feb. 21, 2017
Bao Bao began her journey to China this morning. She departed the Smithsonian’s National Zoo at 10:35 for Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia where she will board a FedEx 777F plane... read more
Feb. 06, 2017
Giant panda Bao Bao will depart the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China Feb. 21.
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Feb. 03, 2017
The Zoo’s 31-year-old male harbor seal, Squeegee, died shortly after a diagnostic medical exam Feb. 1. American Trail keepers had been monitoring Squeegee closely for several weeks after he presented... read more
