Explore a detailed history and timeline of giant pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Using DNA analysis, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists determined
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is committed to preserving Asian and African elephants—both in human care and in the wild. As part of this mission, the Zoo researches diseases that afflict elephants, such as the elephant herpesvirus, known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo were the first to identify EEHV in 1995, following the death of our 16-month-old Asian elephant, Kumari, who was Shanthi’s first calf.
test done at the EEHV lab is called PCR (polymerase chain reaction); it looks for DNA
In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago. Learn more in this update from landscape ecologist Hila Shamon.
Continue Exploring July 29, 2025 Study: New DNA Tool Identifies Animals by Their
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.
Prior to hatching, scientists confirmed the chick’s sex using DNA samples taken from
Red pandas, like giant pandas, are bamboo eaters native to Asia’s high forests. Despite these similarities and their shared name, the two species are not closely related. Red pandas are much smaller than giant pandas and are the only living member of their taxonomic family.
Later, due to some agreements in DNA, they were assigned to the bear family (Ursidae
Kiwi are flightless, nocturnal birds native only to New Zealand. They have the second largest egg per body weight of any bird.
2006: SCBI geneticists develop a novel way to sex brown kiwi chicks by testing DNA
