Press Release Archive

Brandie Smith has been named the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, effective Nov. 9. Smith previously served as acting director of the Zoo beginning May 2021.

On Nov. 3, Small Mammal House keepers said goodbye to our last Geoffroy’s marmoset, Lilo. At 12 years old, she was considered geriatric for her species; typically, Geoffroy’s marmosets in human care live about 7 years.

For the first time in 16 years, Smithsonian’s National Zoo is celebrating the birth of golden-headed lion tamarin twins.

The lions and tigers who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 the week of Sept. 13 are recovering well. All are behaving, eating and drinking normally. Zoo animal care staff also administered the first round of animal-specific COVID vaccines to 11 animals Oct. 13.

Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, welcomed a litter of five cheetah cubs today.

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo who tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 the week of Sept. 13 are behaving and eating normally.

A 2-week-old male cheetah cub from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, was transferred to a new cheetah foster mother at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon, Sunday, Oct. 3.

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continue to be treated for COVID-19. All tigers and lions, including the three lions noted of concern in the Sept. 24 update, are improving and eating.

The lions and tigers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continue to be treated for COVID-19. All tigers and three lions are eating normally and improving. Three lions are of greater concern.

Animal care staff at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) are hand-raising a male cheetah cub for several weeks before placing the cub with a foster cheetah mother at another zoo. The cub was one of a litter of three born to 7-year-old female Sukiri Sept. 16; one cub was stillborn...

Six African lions, a Sumatran tiger and two Amur tigers have tested presumptive positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Last weekend, animal keepers observed decreased appetites, coughing, sneezing and lethargy in several lions and tigers. Fecal samples for all great cats were collected and...

Scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and partners have become the first to use cryopreserved (frozen) coral sperm to support gene migration of Caribbean coral populations that would otherwise remain geographically and genetically isolated.

This morning, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute celebrated giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji’s (SHIAU-chi-ji) first birthday with a specially tailored fruitsicle cake.

Media are invited to a presentation of panda-friendly fruitsicle cakes to giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji, his mother Mei Xiang and father Tian Tian. RSVP required, not open to the public.

Ungulate keepers and scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, are celebrating the birth of two scimitar-horned oryx calves born via non-surgical artificial insemination. A male calf was born July 9 to 6-year-old female Esmerelda, and a female calf...

After over 6,700 votes cast, the three black-footed ferret kits at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia have received their names.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute invites the public to help name three black-footed ferret kits—one female and two males—born May 19 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. Voting for the names starts Tuesday, July 20, at 10...

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists are one step closer to understanding why some corals can weather climate change better than others, and the secret could be in a specific protein that produces a natural sunscreen.

Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, are welcoming a litter of endangered black-footed ferret kits. Three-year-old female Potpie has birthed one kit already, which was born at 3:41 p.m. and can be viewed via the Black-Footed Ferret Cam.

In new study, Smithsonian scientists and partners provide a framework for a new approach to modeling infectious diseases. It adapts established methods developed to study the planet’s natural systems, including climate change, ocean circulation and forest growth, and applies them to parasites and...

When visitors return to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute May 21, they will find both familiar and new faces as they explore the park.

The Bornean subspecies of Rajah scops owl ( Otus brookii brookii), documented in the wild for the first time since 1892, may be its own unique species and deserving of a conservation designation. Published April 28, in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center ecologist...

Cheetah Conservation Station keepers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the arrival of a male lesser kudu calf, who was born Mar. 29 to 7-year-old mother Rogue and 10-year-old father Garrett.

The Smithsonian will reopen eight of its facilities to the public in May, starting with the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, Wednesday, May 5. Additional museums and the National Zoo will open Friday, May 14, and Friday, May 21.