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National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Smithsonian Voices

This leaf-tailed gecko hatchling receives his medication from a syringe, which he laps up with his impressive tongue.

How Do You Give Medicine to Zoo Animals?

Learn how zookeepers give medicine to animals, from salamanders to siamangs and everything in between.

Erin Stromberg | April 6, 2021
Western lowland gorilla Baraka forages in the outdoor gorilla habitat at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The silverback takes mealtime seriously, say his keepers.

How Do You Help a Gorilla With a Toothache?

Western lowland gorilla Baraka is serious about food. When keepers noticed he wasn't eating, they wondered if his change in appetite masked something more serious.

Erin Stromberg | March 24, 2021
A female ruby-throated hummingbird sips nectar from a flower.

How Do You Weigh a Hummingbird?

See Spot. He's a small ruby-throated hummingbird with a big personality. He's also super smart and has mastered scale training.

Lori Smith and Sara Hallager | March 9, 2021
The first cheetah cub born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute celebrated his 10th birthday last year, marking a decade of the facility's successful cheetah breeding program.

5 Milestones from a Decade of Cheetah Breeding and Conservation

Take a look back at some of the milestones the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s cheetah team has celebrated since the breeding and conservation program began.

Allison Cook | March 1, 2021
January was a month full of firsts for giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji. The growing bear played with enrichment toys, took his first bites of sweet potato and bamboo, and had his first encounter with snow!

January's Best Giant Panda Moments—In Video

January was a month full of firsts for giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji. The growing bear played with enrichment toys, took his first bites of sweet potato and bamboo, and had his first encounter with snow!

Laurie Thompson, Marty Dearie and Mariel Lally | February 10, 2021
Reptile keepers are warming up to a new monitor lizard this winter, a young Komodo dragon named Onyx.

Caring for Komodo Dragons, the World's Largest Lizards

The Smithsonian's National Zoo is warming up to a new monitor lizard this winter, a young Komodo dragon named Onyx. Reptile keepers have been working with these lizards for decades, including raising and training the Zoo's 22-year-old Komodo dragon Murphy.

Ashley Goetz | January 26, 2021
In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago.

How Tribes and Conservation Partners are Bringing Swift Foxes Back to Their Historic Range

In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago.

Hila Shamon | January 12, 2021
Categories
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  • Animal Updates (57)
  • Birds (28)
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  • Reptiles and Amphibians (7)
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