In summer 2023, Bird House keepers celebrated the arrival of orchard oriole chicks—the first hatched in human care—and Baltimore oriole chicks. Curator Sara Hallager shares an update about the team’s success.
They are black everywhere else with white bars on their
The eastern box turtle, a subspecies of the common box turtle, has a dark brown, hinged shell with yellow-orange markings. When threatened, it can pull its head, tail and limbs inside and shut its shell for protection.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
Przewalski’s horses, critically endangered horses found in Mongolia, are the last truly wild horse. Once thought to be the ancestor to the domestic horse, they are actually distant cousins. Mitochondrial DNA suggests that they diverged from a common ancestor 500,000 years ago.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
The American alligator is a large crocodilian with an armored body, short legs, a muscular tail and a long, rounded snout. This reptile nearly went extinct but is now considered a conservation success story.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
Grevy’s zebras are the largest zebra species. They have thicker stripes and bigger ears than other zebras. They are also the most threatened. Fewer than an estimated 2,500 remain in the wild.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
National Bison Day is the first Saturday in November and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has a big reason to celebrate these iconic animals! Wallow in the autumn leaves with the Zoo’s bison, Lucy and Gally, and animal keeper Regina Bakely, as she shares her stories and the institution’s history of caring for American bison.
I want everyone else to care, too.
As August comes into full swing, get to know the golden lion tamarins from Kenton Kerns, assistant curator of Small Mammal House!
but often their favorite food is whatever someone else
The Eld’s deer, also known as the brow-antlered deer, is an endangered species indigenous to Southeast Asia. The species was discovered in the Manipur Valley of India in 1838 by Lieutenant Percy Eld, a British officer.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
Asian small-clawed otters are the smallest of all 13 otter species and are native to Asia. Well adapted to life in the water, these social, intelligent animals spend a majority of their time on land.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
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.
Learn what else makes these animals unique.
