Our newest litter of cheetah cubs are busy exploring… and they just got their first physical! Learn about caring for cubs in this update from carnivore biologist Adrienne Crosier.
You may have even seen a few cubs go into one of the Cheetah Cub Cam dens on their
, SCBI marine physiologist Mary Hagedorn and research assistant Virginia Carter have
Find the answers to some of the most-searched questions about black-footed ferrets, North America’s only native ferret species!
These playful animals were once thought to be extinct but have made an incredible
Happy salamander Saturday! This annual holiday honoring these amazing amphibians takes place on the first Saturday in May. To celebrate, we’re counting down animal keeper Matt Neff’s top six favorite salamander facts! Stop by the Reptile Discovery Center’s Jewels of Appalachia exhibit to see these awesome amphibians up close.
Salamanders have super-sensitive skin—and many breathe through it.
Koi fish are colorful, ornamental versions of the common carp. Modern Japanese koi are believed to date back to early 19th-century Japan where wild, colorful carp were caught, kept and bred by rice farmers. The word “koi” comes from the Japanese word for “carp.”
Though carp domestication is believed to have begun in China as far back as the 4th
Guam kingfishers are incredibly rare and difficult to breed, so we are thrilled to be closing out the breeding season with four new chicks. This has been our biggest year to date — and one of our busiest!
Guam kingfisher parents rarely have success raising two chicks at the same time,
Bobcats are often confused with the other three „lynx“ species, the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. Bobcats are slightly smaller and live in warmer, temperate habitats. They are excellent climbers and fast sprinters.
Bobcats have facial ruffs, ear tufts, white spots near the tips of their ears and
The loggerhead shrike is a songbird slightly smaller than a robin. Despite its small stature, the behaviors of a shrike reflect those of a raptor. It is commonly known as the „butcherbird“ or „thorn bird“ for its habit of impaling prey on sharp objects, such as thorns and barbed wire fences.
Fact Sheet Conservation Physical Description Loggerhead shrikes have a blue-gray
The shaggy-coated sloth bear is native to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Sloth bears primarily eat termites and ants, and unlike other bear species, they routinely carry their cubs on their backs.
Fact Sheet Conservation Meet the Animals Physical Description Sloth bears have
It’s not easy to be low on the food chain. But white-bearded wildebeests face a threat even greater than lions and leopards. Habitat loss and fragmentation are causing an alarming collapse in their numbers, says Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientist Jared Stabach. In March, he traveled to Kenya to join University of Glasgow and Kenya Wildlife Service colleagues track how these fantastic ‘beests’ are faring when food is scarce.
What most folks don’t realize is that many wildebeest populations have experienced
