News Archive

There is a brand new band of brothers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. A coalition of two male cheetahs made their debut at the Cheetah Conservation Station yesterday, Dec. 21.

A new study from the Smithsonian and partners presents the most comprehensive evolutionary family tree for the eight known species of pangolins—one of Earth's most evolutionarily unique animals and the world's most trafficked mammal.

As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, the pandas are spending more time in their yards. Panda keepers sometimes get asked by the visitors why we place the bamboo and enrichment items in the places that we do when we set up the yards.

Western lowland gorilla Calaya recently entered her second trimester of pregnancy. Just like other members of the great ape family—including humans—gorillas experience weight gain, and some experience bouts of morning sickness.

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 human care.

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.

Caring for many bird species—from the itty bitty indigo bunting to the giant greater rhea—is all in a day’s work for Bird House keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Although renovations to transform the building into the brand new Experience Migration exhibit are well underway, keepers are...

Next week, 4-year-old male Andean bear Quito will make his debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo! Get the scoop on the new guy in town from animal keeper Sara Colandrea and assistant curator Leigh Pitsko.

When western lowland gorilla Calaya first arrived at the Zoo, she was unfamiliar with many husbandry behaviors. Then, one Day, animal keeper Melba Brown had an 'aha' moment. She noticed that Calaya would often watch other gorillas interact with keepers.

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 International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN), although there are small populations that...

Bei Bei started showing signs of abdominal discomfort overnight Saturday, Nov. 25. As a result, the panda team began monitoring him closely. He passed a mucous stool on Sunday, Nov. 26, and began eating and defecating normally again. As of Wednesday, Nov. 29, Bei Bei is bright, alert and fully...

Excitement abounds at the Great Ape House as animal keepers prepare western lowland gorilla Calaya for motherhood. Even before she arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in 2015, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan coordinators were matchmaking Calaya with male silverback...

With a new statistical tool from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, researchers can take data and better understand the strength of migratory connectivity—whether and when populations spread out or stay together in different seasons of the year—in a quantitative way.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Przewalksi's horse colt Zygmund (or “Ziggy” as keepers affectionately refer to him) is growing into a powerful stallion.

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, Nov. 27, 2017, Steven Monfort will become acting director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and...

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 festival from Nov. 24 through Jan. 1 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31).

Tian Tian had a preventative health exam yesterday. He was taken to the veterinary hospital, which allowed our veterinarians to get an up-close and in-depth look at him while he was under anesthesia.

What is the secret ingredient to saving species? Collaboration! Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute animal care staff recently traveled to India, where they are training colleagues on best practices in animal care, husbandry and veterinary medicine. Sharing knowledge and...

Picture an intelligent mammal. One whose smarts are not only key to their survival but also, in certain situations, to that of humans. The Norway rat may not come first to mind, but its ability to memorize mazes, deftly run up and down walls and keen sense of smell make it a species worth...

Some of the Zoo’s most marvelous mammals are also the smallest—from alluring armadillos to endearing naked mole-rats. More than 35 species are on the move at the Small Mammal House, and it takes a team of creative keepers to care for them. Peek behind the scenes as keepers prepare puzzle feeders...

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.

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 chick.

In September, Conservation Ecology Center Postdoctoral Research Fellow John McEvoy traveled to Mongolia to track wolves and to study the movement behavior of reintroduced Przewalski’s horses—the last of the truly wild horse species. The following is an excerpt from his travel log. When I am not...

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, especially cryopreservation—or the freezing of coral eggs, sperm and other material—as a tool to produce...