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?
This small songbird is a common sight among the leafy woodlands of North America during the spring and summer months. It is noteworthy for its ruby-red irises and persistent singing.
Juveniles have brown irises, while adults have red irises.
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.
Biologist Kenton Kerns and keeper Maria Montgomery share the scoop on the Zoo’s sand cats in the latest Q & A.
Cats Clyde Nishimura If you’ve visited the Small Mammal House recently, you may have
Cuckoos are extremely secretive birds and difficult to spot. Researchers are developing a tool, using remote sound recorders and artificial intelligence, to help detect them.
has caught the attention of conservationists, and groups across the Western U.S. have
Leap into learning what it takes to care for some of the frogs found at Smithsonian’s National Zoo from Matt Evans, assistant curator of the Reptile Discovery Center.
I have been passionate about frogs for as long as I can remember.
When animal keepers introduced Andean bears Billie Jean and Quito earlier this spring, it seemed that love was in the air. Or, was it hormones? To discover how hormones can affect a bear’s behavior during breeding season, keeper Sara Colandrea has teamed up with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute research fellow Natalia Prado. Together, they hope to crack the code of Andean bear reproduction and help other zoos produce bouncing baby bears.
Since 2005, only nine cubs have been born and survived to adulthood in the North
Their hobbies include eating, snuggling and snoozing. Follow your nose to the Small Mammal House and meet our new striped skunk brothers, Pigpen and Sauerkraut!
People often have a fear of being sprayed by skunks.
The beaver is one of North America’s greatest ecosystem engineers and conservation success stories, and we are thrilled to welcome a second beaver to the American Trail!
They have very strong front teeth, which help with chewing and eating wood.
