All seasons on the prairie are special. But spring is just a little more special than the rest, as every day birds return for summer breeding season.
Instead of presents under the tree, there are birds that have returned for summer
For four years, the Reptile Discovery Center’s Asian water dragon female lived alone. Then, while examining eggs as part of a study, animal keepers made a shocking discovery—one was fertile! How could a female lay a fertile egg without a mate? They turned to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) for an answer to the mystery: parthenogenesis.
Miller: While biologists have documented cases of parthenogenesis in other species
Goeldi’s monkeys are small primates with shaggy black hair, claw-like nails and long tails. They inhabit areas of the Amazon rainforest across southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and Peru, western Brazil and northern Bolivia.
They have claw-like nails on all of their digits, except for their large toes.
This beautifully black-and-white streaked warbler is a migratory bird of the Americas. It can be found singing its high-pitched song as it travels from its warm wintering grounds of Central and northern South America up to the forested breeding grounds of eastern North America.
Males and females can be difficult to tell apart; however, females have white cheeks
The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. It has a long, hairless, prehensile tail, a robust body and short legs with sharp claws.
Sheet Conservation Meet the Animals Physical Description Virginia opossums have
Pallas’ cats live in dry, rocky areas throughout Central Asia. They rely on camouflage and their low-slung bodies to hunt and to hide from predators.
Sheet Conservation Meet the Animals Physical Description Pallas’s cats have
The sitatunga is a swamp-dwelling antelope native to Africa. Its splayed feet make it an accomplished swimmer. Sitatungas spend the hottest parts of the day resting in the shade of reeds on platforms of dried plants, which they build themselves by circling and trampling on vegetation.
Fact Sheet Conservation Physical Description Sitatunga have a slightly hunched
How do you monitor disease in Asian elephants? By building their trust and teaching them to voluntarily participate in medical exams! Get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into caring for our herd.
For three decades, we have been committed to learning everything we can about this
Summer is in full swing at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat. Read the latest update on Mei Xiang and Tian Tian from Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas.
Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, which means that Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have
The panda house is closed to the public beginning today, Sept. 1 to provide quiet for Mei Xiang as she enters the final stages of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy.
has now had 3 surviving cubs—the panda team is still waiting to see if she will have
