A sassy new resident made her debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo this week! Animal care staff recently welcomed Amur tiger Nikita to the Great Cats exhibit. Get to know her in this Q&A.
Image: Have Pavel and Nikita met?
Giant pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji are settling in nicely in their new home at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda’s ShenShuPing Campus.
However, in quarantine they have both indoor and outdoor access with lots of fresh
Since her birth last May, our baby western lowland gorilla, Zahra, has grown and changed so much. Read the latest #GorillaStory update from keeper Carly Hornberger.
Over the last couple months, I have really enjoyed developing a relationship with
This small, brightly colored bird lives in small flocks that dart through the tree canopies of South America’s tropical forests. Little is known about the behavior and habits of turquoise tanagers because they are so difficult to find in the wild.
color pattern of metallic blue, turquoise and black plumage, although females often have
In September, Conservation Ecology Center Postdoctoral Research Fellow John McEvoy traveled to Mongolia to track wolves and to study the movement behavior of reintroduced Przewalski’s horses—the last of the truly wild horse species. The following is an excerpt from his travel log.
Image: After going extinct in the wild in the 1960s, they have been successfully
Black-necked stilts are a tall, medium-size shorebird with black-and-white coloration, long pink legs, a long neck, and a straight black bill. They spend most of their days gracefully darting along shorelines and wetlands and wading in shallow water.
In relation to body size, they have the longest legs compared to any other bird aside
If you think a blind, nearly hairless rodent that lives underground can’t get much stranger, then buckle up. There’s a lot more to these weird (and wonderful) rodents than meets the eye!
Colonies have soldiers at their disposal.
‚Hoppy‘ Amphibian Awareness Week! All week long, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will be sharing stories about amazing amphibians and the scientists working to save them from extinction.
Have you ever wondered what the difference between a reptile and amphibian is?
Slow down with Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s three southern two-toed sloths. Keeper Kara Ingraham works with Athena and Vlad in the Small Mammal House, and keeper Denny Charlton tends to Howie in Amazonia. Find out what it takes to care for these unique animals!
Kara: I have always loved animals and grew up dreaming of saving the rainforest.
Keepers can learn a lot about an animal’s needs just by monitoring its weight. But how do you weigh a wiggly ferret or get a full-grown elephant onto a scale? Find out in this update from primate keeper Erin Stromberg.
The scale is built into the base of a protective elephant chute, which keepers have
