News Archive

Sept. 24 is World Gorilla Day, and we are celebrating with an update on our 2-year-old, Moke, and his troop!

A new genomic study ranks the potential of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to bind to the ACE2 receptor site in 410 vertebrate animals. Old World primates and great apes, which have identical amino acids at the binding site as humans, are predicted to have a very high propensity for binding ACE2 and...

A family meal among prairie dogs, the soothing sounds of a cheetah’s purr and a Pride cake fit for a giant panda. As summer kicks off at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, we’re sharing some moments from June that sparked joy.

Chirping cheetah cubs, a birthday party fit for a gorilla and a Madagascar hedgehog tenrec indulging in some self-care with a dust bath—all of these events (and more) made for an eventful month.

For the past two years, the primate team has had the privilege of sharing the story of our western lowland gorilla infant, Moke, with Smithsonian’s National Zoo fans all over the world. With Mother’s Day coming up May 10, primate keeper Carolina Powell highlights Moke’s very first friend—his mom...

As the primate team celebrates Moke's second birthday, keeper Alex Reddy reflects on the western lowland gorilla's growing independence, bold personality and training triumphs.

Moke may just be a few months shy of turning 2-years-old, but our young western lowland gorilla has quite an independent personality! Last autumn, he mastered voluntary injection training.