The winter winds may blow chilly and cold, but they also bring out the sillies in our giant panda cub. The frisky 2.5-year-old tumbled around his outdoor habitat and showed off his unique somersault style.
They have noticed that Mei Xiang appears to have less patience with Xiao Qi Ji’s
One of the world’s largest land tortoises, Aldabra tortoises can reach sizes of up to 550 pounds and ages of up to 150 years old. They are native to Aldabra Island, one of the Seychelles northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
The males have a concave plastron (belly shell) that aids in mating.
Always free of charge, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is one of Washington D.C.’s, and the Smithsonian’s, most popular tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.
mother Shera and father Luke, the 14-week-old cubs passed their swim test in May and have
September 26 marks 40 years since black-footed ferrets were re-discovered in the wild, kick-starting today’s breeding and reintroduction program. Find out what it takes to care for Zoo Guardians‘ September Animal of the Month and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s black-footed ferrets from animal keeper Vicki Lake!
I have black-footed ferret socks, shirts and ornaments.
Painting with alpacas, training miniature donkeys and hosting hands-on animal encounters. It’s all in a day’s work for animal keepers Nikki Maticic and John Taylor! Follow their story for a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of a Kids’ Farm keeper.
Do they have any nasal discharge?
She’s spunky, engaging and loves eating bugs. Get to know this 10-year-old female sloth bear, the newest resident of the Zoo’s Asia Trail.
And as you might have already guessed, this 10-year-old female sloth bear is the
Big bright eyes, bounding leaps and vivacious vocalizations—there’s no denying that lemurs are downright adorable! Every October, we celebrate World Lemur Day to raise awareness of these endangered primates from Madagascar. Meet our animal ambassadors—and learn how you can help their wild cousins—in this update from our Primate and Small Mammal House keepers.
Unlike the ring-tailed lemurs, however, they do not have a hierarchical structure
Summer is in full swing at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat. Read the latest update on Mei Xiang and Tian Tian from Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas.
Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, which means that Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have
The panda house is closed to the public beginning today, Sept. 1 to provide quiet for Mei Xiang as she enters the final stages of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy.
has now had 3 surviving cubs—the panda team is still waiting to see if she will have
For four years, the Reptile Discovery Center’s Asian water dragon female lived alone. Then, while examining eggs as part of a study, animal keepers made a shocking discovery—one was fertile! How could a female lay a fertile egg without a mate? They turned to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) for an answer to the mystery: parthenogenesis.
Miller: While biologists have documented cases of parthenogenesis in other species
