Ever wondered what it would be like to care for an endangered animal?
Enrichment goes hand-in-hand with training, which is not only good mental stimulation
Orangutans are the largest arboreal mammals and the most socially solitary of the great apes. All three orangutan species — Bornean, Sumatran and the newly discovered Tapanuli — are critically endangered, primarily due to habitat loss.
Orangutans can brachiate—swing hand over hand—but they normally move cautiously through
Is she or isn’t she? Excitement is in the air at Asia Trail, where the Zoo’s 5-year-old female sloth bear, Remi, may be expecting a cub! To monitor her for potential cub development, keepers are training Remi to voluntarily participate in ultrasounds. In this Q&A, animal keeper Stacey Tabellario shares some of the preparations that are taking place behind-the-scenes.
She would be a first-time mom, and she was hand-raised by keepers rather than by
We care for many rare and endangered species here at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, including a little brown bird named Tasi. Tasi is a 4-year-old Guam rail and a marvel, considering that just a few decades ago his species nearly disappeared.
But Tasi was hand-reared by animal care staff, so he could bond with and be comfortable
Slow down with Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s three southern two-toed sloths. Keeper Kara Ingraham works with Athena and Vlad in the Small Mammal House, and keeper Denny Charlton tends to Howie in Amazonia. Find out what it takes to care for these unique animals!
To ensure she and Vlad get their tastiest food items, keepers hand-feed the sloth
Keepers can learn a lot about an animal’s needs just by monitoring its weight. But how do you weigh a wiggly ferret or get a full-grown elephant onto a scale? Find out in this update from primate keeper Erin Stromberg.
monkey could mean that there is too much competition for food, and it needs to be hand-fed
White-naped cranes are an elegant species native to Northern Mongolia, southern Siberia, Korea, Japan and central China. They are slightly smaller than red-crowned cranes. This bird has a white nape and vertical gray stripes on its neck, as well as a distinct red patch surrounding its eyes.
One such white-naped crane, a female nicknamed Walnut, was hand raised at another
From the arrival of adorable chicks to award-winning excellence in animal care, much is brewing behind the scenes at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Hand-raised by keepers, she has a sweet temperament and joyous personality.
Siamangs are arboreal, black-furred gibbons native to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatran rain and monsoon forests. They are the largest of the gibbons and use their throat sacs to vocalize, making a deep boom or high-pitched „wow“ sound.
In the trees, they move by acrobatic hand-over-hand swinging through the branches
Curious about Andean bear cubs Muniri and Mayni? Curator Craig Saffoe shares the scoop on the brothers in the latest Q&A.
Mayni, on the other hand, tends to hang close to mom Billie Jean and is cautious
