Enjoy these 50 facts about giant pandas in honor of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Giant Panda 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Scientists and conservationists have worked to restore the giant panda’s habitat
Let’s play a game…for science! With a tap of the touch-screen computer, orangutans at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo try their memories at matching pictures. These games help scientists study the apes’ metacognition.
For example, orangutans have to try to remember where food is located.
In a darkened, red-lit area of the Small Mammal House, two small, nocturnal primates explore their habitats. Naga and Pabu are the first pygmy slow lorises housed at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Get the full scoop from keepers Kara Ingraham and Ann Gutowski in this Q+A.
Pygmy slow lorises have highly specialized diets that are difficult to replicate
Reaching up to 10 feet (3 meters) long, arapaima are the largest freshwater fish in South America. Learn what else makes these animals unique.
These massive fish have a distinctive feeding strategy—they “vacuum” their meals
Hank is a year old today! Hank now weighs about 125 pounds. His favorite foods are butternut squash, peanut butter, and grapes.
Hank and Hana share the same birthday so we will have a special birthday party to
On Father’s Day weekend, Shera’s four cubs made their big debut at the Great Cats exhibit! Now, visitors can see the whole pride every day between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. weather permitting. Animal keeper Rebecca Stites gives us the latest update on the cubs.
What’s the next big ‚event‘ they have to look forward to?
The Zoo has a new troop of seven monkeys! It’s a mixed-species group of guenons. Learn all about our new monkeys, and about guenons, in this Q&A with primate curator Meredith Bastian and keepers Alexandra Reddy and Elliott Rosenthal.
What species of guenons do we have here?
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.
Males have a longish tuft of hair in the genital region.
The Persian onager — also called the Asiatic wild ass, the Persian wild ass and the Persian zebra — is the largest of the four subspecies of Asiatic wild ass (the most horse-like ass species). It’s native to the desert of Iran and has a pale, sandy-red colored coat.
In addition to the dorsal stripe, onagers also have a shoulder stripe.
Get the answers to some of the most-searched questions about the desert dwelling, big-eared fennec fox!
Why do fennec foxes have big ears?
