Tracking an animal’s weight is an important part of animal care, but gazelles are known to be flighty and nervous. So, how do keepers convince them to step onto a scale? Find out in this update from keeper Sarah Rezac.
While this may seem innocuous, a gazelle’s instincts tell it that danger could be
Two new neighbors have arrived at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Meet Przewalski’s horse mother-son duo, Barbie and Cooper!
as they would do in the wild and run together in solidarity to escape perceived danger
The world’s tallest and heaviest bird, the common ostrich is native to the grasslands and savannas of Africa. These birds are completely flightless but are incredibly swift runners due to their long, strong legs—in fact, they are the fastest two-legged animals on Earth.
for the popular myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they sense danger
Raise your trunks for the world’s largest land mammal: the elephant! Find out how animal keeper, Rebecca Riley, cares for Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Asian elephant herd.
they would have a negative reaction to something that, in the wild, would signify danger
Three fluffy feathered friends have joined the flock at our Front Royal, Virginia, campus: one whooping crane and two red-crowned crane chicks!
communication is essential to these birds, who call to one another to indicate breeding, danger
Whooping cranes, named for their impressively loud call, are native to North America. Once faced with extinction, they are now recovering with the help of conservation science efforts.
Vocal communication is essential for whooping cranes, and can be used to indicate danger
The red-crowned crane is one of the world’s largest cranes. It is a highly aquatic species that feeds in deeper water than other cranes.
The male takes the primary role in defending the nest against possible danger.
Linné’s two-toed sloths, also called Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths, have coarse fur, long limbs and big, curved claws. They live in the tropical rainforests of Central America and northern South America, and spend most of their time in the tree canopy.
Two-toed sloths are in serious danger of losing their habitat due to logging of rainforests
With the help of 3D modeling technology, a team of veterinary experts successfully carried out a rare spinal surgery on a female cheetah cub.
Kristina Delaski revealed the cub was not in immediate danger.
Northern snakehead fish are native to China, Southern Siberia and North Korea and are an invasive species in North America.
Once the danger has passed, the young snakeheads rejoin the circle.
