Keepers can learn a lot about an animal’s needs just by monitoring its weight. But how do you weigh a wiggly ferret or get a full-grown elephant onto a scale? Find out in this update from primate keeper Erin Stromberg.
Image: In Amazonia, guinea pigs step into a plastic
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.
Video Guinea Pig | Amazonia Our guinea pigs are having
Lilly Parker is a graduate fellow at the Center for Conservation Genomivs. Her research interests include many aspects of evolutionary biology, including population and landscape genomics and phylogenomics, as well as methodology for sequencing DNA from suboptimal materials, including non-invasive, ancient and environmental samples. She is also passionate about science outreach and education, in particular increasing representation of underrepresented minorities and women in STEM fields. Parker’s projects include:
geological and geographic history of Wallacea and New Guinea
With ruddy coats and tufted ears, caracals are incredibly striking animals. They are also the heaviest of the small African cats. These agile hunters range along the African continent, up into the Arabian Peninsula through northwest India.
agilely into the air to bring down prey, such as guinea
As snow blanketed the Washington, D.C., region Jan. 31, 2021, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s animals woke up to a winter wonderland.
Our guinea pigs sure do!
New at the Zoo: Guinea Pigs January 31, 2020 Inti
Crocodile monitors are large, arboreal lizards from southeast Asia. They have black-green bodies with patters of bright yellow spots and stripes and can weigh up to 44 pounds.
Populations are very fragmented but range from lowland New Guinea
After five days of public voting and just under 25,000 votes, the baby western lowland gorilla is named Zahra [ZAH-rah], which means “beautiful flower” in Swahili.
Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea
Primate staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, D.C., are making preparations for the highly anticipated birth of a critically endangered western lowland gorilla.
Central Africa Republic, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea
Get up close to the animals of the Amazon, including turtles, sting rays, arapaima and roseate spoonbills. Or, see cutting-edge Zoo science at Amphibian Alert and the Coral Lab.
tree frog Image: Green aracari Image: Guinea
