Get to Know the Zoo's Meerkat Pups
From sweet snuggles to sassy vocalization and snatching snacks, it’s been a busy June for the Smithsonian National Zoo's growing meerkat pups!
Jennifer Zoon is a communications specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and visited the Smithsonian museums often. None captivated her more than the Zoo, which instilled a lifelong love of animals, science and conservation. Jennifer shares that passion for wildlife by telling the Zoo’s stories, introducing others to the Smithsonian’s animals and efforts to save species around the world. She earned a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in creative writing from Dickinson College.
From sweet snuggles to sassy vocalization and snatching snacks, it’s been a busy June for the Smithsonian National Zoo's growing meerkat pups!
Jennifer ZoonPoison frogs living in human care aren’t poisonous, thanks to a “detox” diet of mild insects, like crickets and fruit flies. Can adding alkaloids to a frog’s diet help it regain its toxins and get its “spice” back?
Jennifer ZoonFrom newborn cubs to belly slides in the snow
Jennifer Zoon'Test flights' using replica transmitters will help scientists select the best option for siheks
Jennifer ZoonHow do you measure a year of giant panda cub cuteness?
Jennifer ZoonScientists test a new approach to protecting frogs from the deadly fungal pathogen
Jennifer ZoonCelebrate Xiao Qi Ji's Birthday With a Look Back at His First Year
Jennifer ZoonMeals to please the palates of giant pandas, flamingos and fishing cats
Jen RhodesCassowaries are considered to be the dinosaurs’ closest living relative
Heather Anderson and Gwen CooperBrood X is here. Will birds get a bug buffet or struggle to sing over the chorus of cicadas?
Brittany SteffWhat will animals think of the impending bug buffet?
Brittany SteffTake 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 CookJanuary 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 LallyOur playful Hartmann's mountain zebra colt is a bundle of energy! Find out how the young colt spent his summer in this update from ungulate keeper Tara Buk.
Tara BukA "surprise" spider tortoise hatchling arrived July 5 at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center. Get the scoop from assistant curator Matt Evans.
Matt EvansThe Smithsonian's National Zoo's giant panda cub reached a big milestone over the weekend. The 1-month-old cub had its first veterinary exam, and all signs point to a healthy, strong cub. Get the scoop from Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas.
Laurie ThompsonMeet the lemur leaf frog! These attractive amphibians — best known for their big, beautiful eyes — are critically endangered. The good news? Reptile Discovery Center keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are working to save them from extinction. Get the scoop on how they cracked the code on breeding this species from assistant curator Matt Evans.
Jennifer ZoonGet a sneak peek into one very important aspect of clouded leopard cubs' daily care at the Zoo: training.
Jenny Spotten and Charlie ShawAs the sounds of traffic and crowds have hushed, you may have noticed more birdsong than usual. Stay-at-home measures keeping most of us indoors are likely emboldening our feathered friends, and many more humans are stopping to listen.
Scott SillettAt the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, the carnivore team is gearing up for a very special arrival: cheetah cubs! As one of 10 facilities in the Cheetah Breeding Center Coalition, SCBI researchers study the behavior, biology, health and reproduction of these rare cats.
Amber DedrickHow do you get an orangutan to sit still for an electrocardiogram? All it takes is a little patience and a lot of ingenuity! The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s positive reinforcement training program enables primates to voluntarily participate in their own medical care without the need for anesthesia.
Jennifer ZoonForty years ago, the distinctive call of the bobwhite quail could be heard throughout Virginia’s grasslands. Today, their calls are fading — silenced by changing farm practices and land development that have led to the quail’s steep population declines. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Virginia Working Landscapes program has joined a nationwide effort to save this charismatic species and its habitat.
Jennifer ZoonWhat makes (or breaks) a coral’s ability to survive rising sea temperatures? It’s a puzzling predicament, and scientists are hoping coral nurseries can help crack the code. To test the waters, they grow brown rice coral and blue rice coral in various temperatures and conditions, then reintroduce fragments into the ocean. Suspended from a “tree” above the sea floor, these corals are teaching Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientist Mike Henley whether corals grown in warmer waters fare better than their cold-water counterparts.
Jennifer ZoonIn Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, eastern coyotes join the ranks of top predators, along with black bears and foxes. Still, these clever canines face threats in their native habitat. Their daily migrations take them over roads and private lands, where the likelihood of human-animal conflict is high. Using GPS collars, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists, led by biologist Joe Guthrie, are about to embark on a study to piece together the movements of coyotes on the prowl.
Jennifer ZoonCurator of primates Meredith Bastian and primate keeper Alex Reddy traveled to Central Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo to follow great apes in their native habitat. They tell of their research trip in the interview below.
Jennifer ZoonTapirs are very charismatic, yet not many people know much about these species. Evolutionarily, tapirs represent a unique taxonomic group; they have retained most of their prehistoric anatomical traits. They are well adapted to climbing steep slopes efficiently, since they live at such high altitudes — between 3,200 meters and 4,300 meters above sea level. Their babies are absolutely cute and sport a brown and white watermelon-like pattern when they are young.
Jennifer Zoon