News Archive

By Lauren Augustine The first exhibit in RDC displays a very unique and rare species of crocodilian, the Philippine crocodile. This species is critically endangered wild populations were estimated to be less than 15,000 way back in 1995. Mindy, the Philippine crocodile is one of the first reptiles...

By Lauren Augustine Summer has officially arrived in DC! And while visitors to the Zoo often flock to shade or the air conditioned buildings (like the Reptile Discovery Center), some animals are reveling in the heat—like our crocodiles. Crocodiles are ectothermic, meaning their body temperature is...

By Lauren Augustine I bet you didn't know that we train our crocodiles—that's right crocodiles can learn! We use operant conditioning techniques much like the mammal and bird keepers at the Zoo. There are a few reasons keepers at the Reptile Discovery Center use operant conditioning to train the...