National Zoological Park
Smithsonian Events for the Week of July 6-10: Rainforest Animals, Zoo Serenade and a Ladybug Release
Monday, July 5: Nothing special going on today. Check out the Smithsonian events site for regularly scheduled events. Tuesday, July 7: Rainforest Summer with Reptiles Alive!Ever wanted to touch an iguana, turtle or boa constrictor? Now you can! Meet live animals from each level of the Rainforest an...
July 06, 2009 |
By Lauren Hogan
Elephant Love at the Zoo Is Not What It Used To Be
It's springtime and the animal kingdom is feeling especially amorous. Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it—they fall in love.The Asian elephants at the National Zoo, however, seem to have forgone the formalities of courtship and emotional attachment in favor of artificial insemination...
June 10, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Vote for the Clouded Leopards in the Cutest Zoo Baby Contest
Stumbling wide-eyed giraffes, fuzz-ball lions cubs, a curious baby gorilla rolling carelessly on his back or the unmistakable black and white fluff of a baby panda—all solicit coos and awws by even the sternest zoo visitor. But when it comes to choosing the cutest baby animal, why not be original?B...
June 05, 2009 |
By Jordan Steffen
Zoo Dating Service for Cranes Produces Baby
The dating scene is rough enough as it is -- your Friday nights may be more prone to pitfalls than opportunities to fall in love. So imagine if you're an endangered species. The pool of dateable animals is suddenly exponentially smaller and you spend more and more Friday nights alone and posting ad...
June 04, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Events Week of June 1-5: Parthenon, Photography, Asia and an Arts Festival
Monday, June 1: Nothing SpecialNo special events today, kids. However, there are always regularly scheduled programs and events happening at the Smithsonian museums. Check out a complete listing of daily events here.Tuesday, June 2: FONZ Photo ClubIf you're a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping...
June 01, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Amelia Earhart, Addison Scurlock and George Washington
Friday, May 29: You Can't Do That Amelia!: Flights of Fancy—Stories for ChildrenBring the little ones in your family out for story time at the National Air and Space Museum. This week, come hear about Amelia Earhart's escapades as a little girl with a reading of Kimberly Wagner Killer's You Can't D...
May 29, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Rainforest Creatures Caught on Camera
In the rainforests of Peru, scientists with the National Zoo's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program set up cameras that "trap" wildlife in the area, digitally at least. When an animal walks by one of these traps, sensors register its body heat and movement, giving researchers a candid...
May 29, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Weekend Events: Dancing, Alpacas and Mermaids
Friday, May 15: Asian Pacific American Heritage Music and Dance PerformanceCome enjoy the School of Indian Odissi Dance Troupe and the Mongolian Dance perform traditional Asian Pacific music and dance. Free. Natural History Museum. 6:30 PMSaturday, May 16: Mermaids, Serpents and Sea CreaturesI'm su...
May 15, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Are Appalachian Salamanders Carrying a Deadly Fungus?
Only for science would I spend my Saturday morning sitting on minnow nets in the back of a mud-stained, blue pickup. Armed with latex gloves and the wrong kind of shoes, I was happy to be out of the office and helping Smithsonian researchers catch salamanders at the National Zoo’s Conservation and ...
May 13, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Will We Soon See a Panda Baby?
UPDATED, MAY 20: The zoo announced today that unfortunately, Mei Xiang, experienced a pseudo or false pregnancy. On the plus side, this means the indoor part of the Panda Habitat will re-open as of today, so get yourself to the zoo!What will it take for Mei Xiang, the National Zoo's celebrity panda...
May 12, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Abraham Lincoln, Cabaret and Migratory Birds
Friday, May 1: Cabaret with Tomson Highway: PerformanceWhat good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, ol' chum—come to the cabaret at the American Indian Museum. Playwright and novelist Tomson Highway will be joined onstage by singer/actress Patricia Cano and ...
May 01, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Events Week of 4/13-17: A Little Jazz, a Glass of Wine and a House of Gorillas
Monday, April 13: Easter Monday: Celebrating the African American FamilyEaster Monday has been a long standing multicultural tradition in Washington, DC—and why not celebrate at the National Zoo? The day is rife with food and activities, which include an Easter egg hunt, crafts, live musical entert...
April 13, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Nikki the Bear Lost 110 Pounds on the National Zoo Diet
When Nikki the spectacled Bear came to the National Zoo in December 2006, he looked more like Winnie the Pooh than Smokey the Bear. At 500 pounds, Nikki was so obese that animal handlers had trouble locating his tail underneath layers of fat. The weight took its toll on his physical activity as wel...
April 10, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Then and Now: Easter Monday at the National Zoo
Two decades after the White House began its Easter Egg Roll tradition in 1878, the National Zoo started one of its own. The event, which involved an Easter egg roll down the zoo’s Lion-Tiger Hill and a day of picnicking, became a hit, especially for DC-area African Americans, with attendance reachi...
April 10, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Clouded Cubs Continued: They're Two Boys
We have more pictures to share of the clouded leopard cubs that were born last month at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia.Zoo officials report that the pair are both boys, weighing in at just over one pound each. They're eating every four hours and they'r...
April 09, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Wait a Minute. Was that Indiana Jones We Saw at the Zoo?
Indy, was that you we saw at the Zoo? Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, who are recently engaged to be married took Calista's son Liam to see "Happy," the Nile hippopotamus. Animal keeper Jay Tee Taylor (right) was on hand and let Ford feed the 5,000-pound creature. The family also visited the ...
April 08, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Feeding the Animals at the National Zoo
After hiring the first animal nutritionist 30 years ago, the National Zoo prepares specific, well-balanced meals for each animal
April 08, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Video: Newborn Clouded Leopards
We thought the National Zoo's newborn clouded leopards were cute when we got the first photo. But now there's video. Listen to them squeal! Animal care staff and veterinarians are feeding the cubs every three hours and monitoring their temperature and body weight. They've found that hand rearing cl...
March 26, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Clouded Leopard Cubs Born at the Zoo's Research Facility
Precious. Absolutely precious. The two clouded leopard cubs born in the early hours of yesterday morning at the Zoo's research facility in Front Royal, Virginia, are adorable.But this pair is truly precious, or as Zoo officials tell us, they are "genetically valuable," meaning that they were bred o...
March 25, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
National Zoo Celebrates Birth of Rare Clouded Leopards
Notoriously difficult to breed, two new clouded leopards are born at the National Zoo’s research facility
March 25, 2009 |
By Cristina Santiestevan
