Press Release Archive

As the number of Asian and African elephants in the wild continues to dwindle, a key to bolstering their survival could be contained within their DNA, according to researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The scientists successfully analyzed part of the complex gene family that helps determine...

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation (PARC) Project announced today that some of the frogs collected in their inaugural expedition in November were already affected by amphibian chytrid fungus ( Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), the disease that has devastated nearly 100 frog species...

Dennis W. Kelly has been named director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., effective February 15, 2010. As director, Kelly will oversee the 163-acre facility in Rock Creek Park and the 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia. Kelly, 56, has been the...

Sales of organic, shade-grown coffee grown to the Bird Friendly standards of the National Zoo’s Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center rose to nearly $3.5 million in 2008.

Tai Shan (tie-SHON), the first surviving giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, will be sent to the People’s Republic of China in early 2010, as stipulated in the agreement between the Zoo and the Chinese government. The exact date of his departure has not been determined due to the...

A wild white-tailed deer jumped into a lion exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8. There were two adult female lions in the habitat, one of which caught, trapped and injured the young adult doe. Zoo staff successfully transitioned the lions to their interior spaces. The...

Just in time for mailing holiday greeting cards, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo launches a series of customized conservation stamps featuring seven Zoo animals: the giant panda, Asian elephant, Panamanian golden frog, clouded leopard, Kirtland’s warbler, Scimitar-horned oryx and western lowland...

Merlin, the National Zoo’s senior male sloth bear, died this morning after a 48-hour illness. On Monday morning, Nov. 2, he underwent a routine physical examination. Although the examination went well, his anesthetic recovery was prolonged, and he had not returned to normal by the afternoon. While...

This winter, Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) will present Wild Side Stage, a new performance series for children. Families are invited for shows by acclaimed, award-winning musicians, dancers, storytellers and puppeteers from around the country.

Two adult arapaima fish have died in the Amazonia exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The first fish died Thursday, November 19, and a second fish was found dead Friday, November 27. The tank is being closely monitored by Zoo staff as a third adult is in poor health and is currently being...

Most countries throughout the world participate in the $40-million-per-year culinary trade of frog legs in some way, with 75 percent of frog legs consumed in France, Belgium, and the United States. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues have found that this trade is a potential...

Tickets are now on sale for ZooLights, the National Zoo’s 3rd annual winter celebration, featuring sculptures of the Zoo’s animals in LED lights. ZooLights, powered by Pepco, will take place December 4-13 (Friday through Sunday nights) and December 18-January 2 (every night except Dec. 24, 25, and...

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has experienced the deaths of two scimitar-horned oryx , a female at the Rock Creek campus and a male at the Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Va. On October 14, a 16-year-old male oryx died at CRC. This animal was in the process of being...

At an event held in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced six grant awards totaling $800,000 going toward research efforts to explore the cause and control of white-nose syndrome, a wildlife health crisis...

Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) invites pre-kindergarten through high school teachers/educators from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia) to participate in its first Teacher Appreciation Day at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The event takes...

“Happy,” the National Zoo’s 28-year-old Nile hippopotamus, was transported early yesterday morning to his new home at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin. The 5,000-pound hippo arrived safely shortly after 3 a.m. at his destination. National Zoo staff moved Happy, the Zoo’s solitary hippo, in...

“Happy,” the National Zoo’s 28-year-old Nile hippopotamus, was transported early yesterday morning to his new home at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin. The 5,000-pound hippo arrived safely shortly after 3 a.m. at his destination. National Zoo staff moved Happy, the Zoo’s solitary hippo, in...

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed two burrowing owl chicks Aug. 2—the first hatching of this species at the Zoo in 30 years. The chicks’ parents, a 5-year-old male and 4-year-old female, have been at the Zoo since June 2006. The last time burrowing owls successfully bred at the National Zoo...

It was an exciting and busy 24 hours at the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Va., last week as three births took place just hours apart. On the evening of July 9, a clouded leopard cub was born, followed by a Przewalski’s horse foal and a red panda cub. Jao Chu...

The Smithsonian Institution and the World Bank Group today announced a new program under the Global Tiger Initiative to help stabilize and restore wild tiger populations and save this endangered species from extinction in its natural habitats. Poaching, habitat loss and other issues have reduced the...

A rare white-naped crane has hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va. on May 23. The two-week-old female chick is the most genetically important hatchling in the North American White-Naped Crane Species Survival Program. The population has...

Veterinarians and animal care staff conducted a series of artificial insemination procedures this week on Shanthi, one of the Asian elephants at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. A successful pregnancy is an important milestone in the Zoo’s commitment to Asian elephant conservation. National Zoo staff...

Staff at Smithsonian’s National Zoo confirmed late yesterday that female giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) is not pregnant but was experiencing a pseudo, or false, pregnancy during the past several months. National Zoo scientists, veterinarians and keepers were keeping a close eye on Mei Xiang...

Eight institutions announced today their joint venture to save amphibians from the brink of extinction in the eastern region of Panama—an area rich with diverse amphibian species. Experts from the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Africam Safari...