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.
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Giant anteaters are the largest of the four anteater species, reaching lengths of 6-8 feet. They are native to Central and South America, where they feed on tiny termites and ants using their 2-foot-long tongue, which can flick in and out up to 150 times per minute.
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Guinea pigs are rodents that were first domesticated in 5,000 B.C. The domesticated species, Cavia porcellus, is most likely derived from the Andean Cavia tschudii (or montane guinea pig), found in Peru, highland Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, and northeastern Chile.
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Land hermit crabs live close to the shoreline and must have access to both land and water. They are popular pets but do not breed in human care. Consequently, the pet trade harvests them from the wild, which is unsustainable.
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The Home’s hinge-back tortoise is a small tortoise found throughout the coastal regions of the Gulf of Guinea in Western Africa. Its distinct shell angles down at the back.
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The hawk-headed parrot is a colorful bird found in South American rainforests. When frightened, it can raise its neck feathers, forming a fan around its head.
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Larger and furrier than their more famous cousins the naked mole-rats, Damaraland mole rats also live in social, subterranean colonies. These omnivores range from western Zambia to northwestern South Africa.
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Migratory songbirds with distinct black-and-blue feathers, black-throated blue warblers prefer to live and hunt in dense, shady forests with lots of plant growth. They search the undersides of leaves and shrubs for arthropods and primarily feed caterpillars to their young.
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The Andean bear, or spectacled bear, is the only bear native to South America. It is a clever, arboreal animal that builds platforms and nests in trees for eating and sleeping.
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Critically endangered black-and-white ruffed lemurs are native only to Madagascar, where they live in trees and are most active during the day.
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