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Science / Wildlife

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Picture of the Week—Pygmy Seahorse

Orangutans

A Newly Discovered Orangutan Population on Borneo

The Zoo’s three pandas, here Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, require a constant supply of bamboo, a plant that is not very nutritious, especially for animals, like pandas, that are natural carnivores.

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

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Why We Don’t Have a Baby Panda

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Wolves, hibernating animals, spitting cobras and more

For the first time in 16 years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center celebrated the birth of clouded leopard cubs.

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

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Picture of the Week—Great Egret

Voting continues for the Reader’s Choice in Smithsonian magazine’s 6th Annual Photo Contest

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Dolphin Bubble Rings

The dolphins at SeaWorld Orlando have learned an interesting trick all on their own: they create rings of bubbles and play with them

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Picture of the Week—Underwater Tiger

Komodo dragon

Komodo Dragons: Cute, Deadly or Both?

In a span of ten years, more than 1,000 species were discovered in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region.

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Mosquitoes, New Zealand flightless birds, pink lizards and more

They may not be beautiful, but geoducks fetch a pretty price.

Geoducks: Happy as Clams

In the Pacific Northwest, fishermen are cashing in on the growing yen for geoducks, a funny-looking mollusk turned worldwide delicacy

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The National Zoo Diet

Six-o-clock in the morning is when the action begins at the National Zoo. Think you’re grumpy without breakfast?

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Meerkats and Ground Squirrels Live Together, Respond to Threat Differently

Charles Darwin

Emotional Expression in Apes Going Ape

One of the big themes of this year’s AAAS meeting was—you guessed it— Charles Darwin

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Dispatch from AAAS—Big Fish and other Award-Winning Stories

This weekend, fellow blogger Sarah and I are writing from the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago. It’s basically a greatest hits of science conference.

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Dispatch from AAAS—Origami and Objects that Cannot Exist

This weekend, blog overseer Laura and I are writing from the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago. The press briefing began with four scientists gazing upwards

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Dispatch from AAAS—Naming the 1000th Steve

This weekend, blog overseer Laura and I are writing from the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago

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Dispatch from AAAS—The Greater Sage Grouse Fembot

This weekend, blog overseer Laura and I are writing from the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago

Soldier beetles mate on a bed of flowers.

The Curious Do’s and Don’ts of Insect Dating Behavior

Bugs tap, dance and buzz to attract their mates—and some get eaten

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