National Zoological Park
New Arrivals at the Zoo: Japanese Giant Salamanders
This week, the National Zoo once again welcomed several new habitants. Four Japanese giant salamanders have arrived as a gift from the City of Hiroshima Asa Zoological Park, and join the lone Japanese giant salamander who already lives on the Asia Trail.Japanese giant salamanders, or oosanshouo (pr...
July 22, 2010 |
By Katherine Purvis
Events: Caribbean Music, Animal Care, Thomas Jefferson and More!
Monday, July 19: ExplorAsia: A Drop-in Art Adventure for FamiliesCome on down to Freer Gallery 5 and immerse yourself in the art of elaborately-decorated folding screens which will transport you back to 17th and 18th century Japan. Discover what life was like in the city and the country, act out wh...
July 19, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Red Panda Cub Dies at the National Zoo
The National Zoo's tiny, black-nosed red panda cub died late last night, just 21 days after it was born. It was the first red panda cub at the zoo in 15 years.The cub was found "lifeless" by a Zoo keeper late last night, Zoo officials said, and was rushed to a veterinary hospital, where he was conf...
July 08, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Roundup: Cool Down, Speak Up and Faraway Places
Cool down: If you think it’s been hot for us humans during the current heat wave, imagine what it must be like for our friends at the National Zoo. Collections Search Center offers a few old photos of some of the Zoo’s most beloved animals cooling off. My favorite picture shows two baby orangutans,...
July 07, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: Roswell, The Pony Express, Andrew Jackson and More!
Tuesday, July 6: FONZ Photo ClubIf you’re a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping shots of critters, come on out to the National Zoo and participate in the FONZ (that’s Friends Of the National Zoo for those of you who were thinking Henry Winkler) photo club’s monthly meeting. Share your photos, h...
July 06, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Another Birth to Celebrate at the National Zoo
Last week the National Zoo welcomed another baby animal to their steadily increasing brood. On June 16, Shama and Tate, a pair of red pandas, became proud parents to a single cub: a tiny, sandy-haired creature that will achieve its full adult fur and coloring when it is around 90-days old. The birt...
June 25, 2010 |
By Katherine Purvis
Wednesday Roundup: Poetry, Pictures, Pixpop Apps
Roses are Red, Bees Are… Not Blue..: Channel your inner Shakespeare to celebrate the arrival of the National Zoo’s new honeybee colony. The Zoo is asking visitors to send in original honeybee poems and favorite honey recipes to display on the Zoo’s Pollinarium website. And that’s not all—the Zoo w...
June 23, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
More Chicks at the National Zoo
The red-billed hornbill chick isn't the only baby that made its debut at the National Zoo's Bird House last week.A pair of Temminck’s Tragopans (pronounced trag-uh-pan—like a frying pan) also introduced a newborn baby chick: a small, golden and browned colored bird that will grow to become an adult...
June 15, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: Gorillas and Tigers and Bolivia—Oh My!
Monday, June 7: Sorry kids, no special events today. But be sure to check out this site for the long list of events and activities always happening at the Smithsonian.Tuesday, June 8: International Tiger Conservation PanelIn the wake of the recent passing of Rokan, the National Zoo's oldest Sumatra...
June 07, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Saying Goodbye to Rokan the Tiger
Last Friday, the National Zoo said goodbye to their oldest Sumatran tiger, Rokan—who was one of the longest-lived tigers in captivity.“We knew he would get to the point when his quality of life was no longer medically manageable or acceptable,” wrote Dr. Katharine Hope, associate veterinarian at ...
June 03, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
New DNA Lab Opens at the National Zoo
With plastic test tubes filled with sparkling juice, zoo officials, scientists and researchers toasted the opening of the Smithsonian National Zoo’s new genetics lab on “Research Hill” last Tuesday, celebrating a space that will give geneticists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute a l...
June 02, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Wednesday Roundup: Bees, Bears and Bizarre Facial Hair
Ocean View—The health of the ocean is on everyone's mind right now, as we watch crews desperately trying to save the wildlife and waters affected by the recent Gulf oil spill. Today, the National Museum of Natural History launched the Ocean Portal, an interactive site where visitors can dive into...
June 02, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: National Zoo Photo Club, Jazz and More!
Tuesday, June 2: FONZ Photo ClubIf you’re a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping shots of critters, come on out to the National Zoo and participate in the FONZ (that’s Friends Of the National Zoo for those of you who thinking Henry Winkler) photo club’s monthly meeting. Share your photos, hear f...
June 01, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Another Delivery at the Zoo: Make Way for White-Naped Cranes
The National Zoo has two new long-necked, long-legged friends.The white-naped crane chicks, born May 12 and May 14, are the newest residents of the zoo's Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Native to China, Russia and Korea, the cranes number just an estimated 5,000 in the wild...
May 27, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Lion Cub Dies at the National Zoo
It was a sad evening at the National Zoo last night, as the new African lion cub—the first at the zoo in 20 years—died just days after it was born.The cub (who keepers discovered was a male) had been monitored by zoo staff via a camera since it's birth early Tuesday morning. Last night, they notice...
May 21, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
National Zoo's First Baby Lion Cub in 20 Years Born This Morning
At 4 a.m. this morning, a tiny cub joined the growing lion pride at the National Zoo.It was the first lion cub to be born at the National Zoo and also the first birth for the zoo's six-year-old lion, Nababiep. Mom is still being monitored by zoo staff, because there could also be another cub on the...
May 18, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Get Your Vote On: Naming the Andean Bear Cubs
If you thought your days of naming animals were over, think again.The National Zoo is asking for the public's help in naming more of its baby animals. And this time it needs two names: one for each of its twin Andean bear cubs.The cubs, who were born in January and made their first expedition out o...
May 11, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Have You Ever Met a Kiwi Who Was Just Named Hiri? (Down By The Zoo!)
Immediately after we celebrated the birth of the National Zoo's baby kiwi Apteryz mantelli bird in March, the first question that came to mind was "What are you going to call it?" (Maybe that was just on my mind.)But keepers at the Zoo were saving that honor for Roy Ferguson, the ambassador to the ...
May 10, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Weekend Events: Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
Friday, May 7: Korean Film Festival DC 2010: Rough CutIn this film from South Korea, an actual gangster—and aspiring thespian—is offered a chance to play a thug on film. He accepts, but on one condition: all the fights in the movie must be real. The tumultuous relationships that develop between hi...
May 07, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Zoo News: It's a Boy! And a Girl!
Months after twin Andean Bear Cubs were born at the National Zoo (and after several weeks of watching them on the Zoo's webcam), the duo finally ventured outside for the first time on Friday, alongside their mom, Billie Jean.The cubs, whose gender was also recently revealed by veterinarians, spent ...
May 04, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
