Say hello to Ariel! This sweet and social clouded leopard just joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s breeding program. She has the smarts to solve puzzle feeders and seems smitten with her beau-to-be, Ta Moon.
They have large paws for gripping branches, specialized anklebones for ease of climbing
Fire-bellied toads, also called bombina, are warty, aquatic toads with bright orange or red undersides. These gregarious frogs are native to China and Russia.
Males, unlike females, also have nuptial pads on the first and second fingers.
In March and April, keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, celebrated the arrival of two male kiwi chicks! Get to know them in this update from the bird team.
Both chicks have yet to receive their official names, so here they’re referred to
Earlier this summer, the Zoo welcomed Basil, a Virginia opossum (also known as a North American opossum) to the Small Mammal House. Get to know Basil in our new feature, written by animal keeper Mimi Nowlin!
A female opossum can have up to 25 offspring in one litter!
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.
Old World primates and great apes, which have identical amino acids at the binding
Spending your days with a herd of bison is an idyllic way to pass a summer. I would know, because most of my days from May to August were spent observing the behaviors of a herd of about 300 bison in Montana.
For the last six months, I have worked with SCBI and the Reserve to study bison behavior
After a potentially deadly injury, one endangered wild horse got a new lease on life thanks to the Smithsonian’s veterinary team.
than their domestic cousins, a factor ungulate curator Dolores Reed believes may have
Smithsonian scientists, in collaboration with the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department, are embarking on a five-year swift fox reintroduction project to restore swift foxes to tribal lands and to help reestablish connectivity between disjointed swift fox populations.
the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department in Montana, Smithsonian scientists have
Recently, our Great Cats team bid farewell to African lion Amahle, who moved to another zoo to breed. Keeper Katy Juliano shares how Amahle’s mother, Shera, is adjusting in this update.
visitors to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute may have
With their big ears, wide eyes and furry paws, sand cats may look adorable… but they’re quite tough! Sand cats are the only members of the cat family that live exclusively in desert environments. Get to know these hardy felines in this Q&A.
Many desert species—including sand cats—have a variety of physical and behavioral
