Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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Pinky can’t wait to introduce all her friends to the California sea lions TODAY! Join her at 2 PM ET for a virtual field...
05/14/2026

Pinky can’t wait to introduce all her friends to the California sea lions TODAY! Join her at 2 PM ET for a virtual field trip to American Trail full of music, movement and lots of animal fun!

Register for the live program or find the program recording and lots of fun classroom activities at https://s.si.edu/3RhsgkV!

Photo credit: Emily Porter, Smithsonian

Early learners and teachers, you’re invited to a very special birthday party! 🎂 Join the animals of our American Trail f...
05/11/2026

Early learners and teachers, you’re invited to a very special birthday party! 🎂

Join the animals of our American Trail for our final Get a Head Start with the Smithsonian virtual field trip this Thursday at 2 PM ET! We’ll celebrate America’s 250th birthday and Head Start’s 61st birthday with some real party animals: our California sea lions and our bald eagles!

Can't attend live? Sign up to receive the program recording and corresponding activities directly to your inbox. Get started: https://s.si.edu/4wCWFdU

Photo credit: Skip Brown, Smithsonian

Humans aren't alone in the lengths we'll go to care for our offspring. Across the animal kingdom, there are a wide varie...
05/10/2026

Humans aren't alone in the lengths we'll go to care for our offspring. Across the animal kingdom, there are a wide variety of strategies female animals use to care for their young, including some rather unusual ones!

🐊 Crocodilians, like the American alligator, make excellent mothers! Unlike many reptiles, female American alligators will fiercely defend their hatchlings from predators for one to two years. Eventually, moms will begin acting aggressively toward their own young, encouraging them to disperse from their natal site.

🦘 Marsupials, like the Bennett's wallaby, are known for their unique method of caring for their offspring by carrying them in a specialized pouch. Born the size of a jellybean, the newborn wallaby will climb into its mother's pouch immediately after birth. Inside, the babies, or joeys, continue to grow for several months before they start to peek out. The joeys will use mom's pouch as a safe place to rest and nurse until they are about 9 months old!

🦷 Aquatic caecilians are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs. These unique, limbless amphibians literally give a piece of themselves to their offspring; the juveniles use special teeth to scrape the lining of their mother's oviduct and eat the cells!

Photos by Megan Murphy, Chelia Chong and Roshan Patel, Smithsonian

Wishing a happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there, including some of the super moms here at the Zoo! 🐻 Sloth bear M...
05/10/2026

Wishing a happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there, including some of the super moms here at the Zoo!

🐻 Sloth bear Molly is an attentive mom to her two cubs, Ozzy and Champa, born Dec. 7. Although the cubs haven't made their public debut yet, keep an eye out for our male sloth bears, Niko and Deemak, at the top of Asia Trail!
🦆 Make way for northern pintail ducklings! Breeding season is in full swing at the Bird House in both the Coffee Farm and Prairie Pothole aviaries, and our avian moms are doing a fantastic job rearing their little ones.
🐆 Amabala wowed viewers across the globe as she raised four energetic cubs on the Zoo's Cheetah Cam this year. Although the cam has since closed for the year, we are happy to share that Amabala and her girls are doing well!
🐘 And an honorable mention to our super stand-in-mom, Asian elephant Swarna! When baby elephant Linh Mai was rejected by her own mother shortly after birth, Swarna quickly stepped in as a caregiver for the calf and hasn't left her side since. She has been a wonderful role model for Linh Mai and been instrumental in helping facilitate interactions with the rest of the herd.

Photos by Kaitlyn Adkins, Brett Kuxhausen and Roshan Patel/ Smithsonian

💚🐸 Saving amphibians takes a dedicated animal care team, cutting-edge conservation research and people like YOU! Get tip...
05/09/2026

💚🐸 Saving amphibians takes a dedicated animal care team, cutting-edge conservation research and people like YOU! Get tips on how to help frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians from our experts. Hop to it! . .
🌊 Keep habitats clean.
Protecting amphibians means protecting water in our neighborhood. They need pristine conditions to thrive. When caring for your home and lawn, use pesticides and fertilizer sparingly. Excess chemicals can runoff into local waterways and inadvertently make amphibians and the insects they eat ill. . .
♻️ Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Every little bit makes a big difference for wild animals and their habitats, here and abroad. . .
🌿 🪰 Know before you buy.
Owning a pet is a commitment for the lifetime of that animal. Amphibians require specific—and sometimes costly—environmental, dietary and enrichment needs. If you can provide these, only purchase pets from reputable organizations. Never buy an animal that was taken from the wild. . .
⛰️ 🥾 Take a hike (safely).
Between hikes, disinfect your footwear to avoid tracking bacteria and fungi that could be harmful to amphibians. . .
🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ Volunteer.
Classroom education is important, but so is hands-on experience. If you want to work with frogs, consider interning or volunteering at your local zoo or nature center. . .
💵 Support conservation efforts.
Our animal experts study frog biology, reproduction, disease and ecology. When you shop at the Zoo or make a donation, your dollars support our efforts to save these animals and their habitats. . .
📋 Get involved in community science.
Catalogue the wildlife you see and record that information for scientists studying them in the wild. . .
🗣️ 🐸 Share their stories.
Tell somebody how excited you are about amphibians, and get them to be excited, too! . .
Photos by Roshan Patel, Mehgan Murphy and Skip Brown/Smithsonian

05/09/2026

Meet our caecilians and Amazonia keeper Mike Kirby in this virtual animal demo!

With a sleek, eel-like body and beady eyes, the aquatic caecilian is quite an unusual amphibian. They look like a cross between a snake and an eel, but they are neither. Just like frogs and salamanders, caecilians are amphibians. They are native to the Amazon River Basin in South America and spend their entire lives in the water.

There are some key differences between caecilians and other species of amphibians. Many amphibians can exchange oxygen through their skin via a specialized membrane, but caecilians do not. Their skin is quite thick, and they must come to the surface to take breaths of air. Juveniles take breaths more frequently, about every five to 10 minutes. Adults, however, can hold their breath between 20 to 30 minutes at a time.

Want to help amphibians? Pay attention to where the goods you purchase come from. When you avoid goods that are produced by excessive agricultural practices (such as clear-cutting of forests), you help preserve the sensitive habitats amphibians call home.

Your coffee is stronger than you think! ☕🦜 Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee is the only certification in the world that ...
05/09/2026

Your coffee is stronger than you think! ☕🦜

Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee is the only certification in the world that guarantees the protection of habitat for tropical, migratory songbirds, backed by 25 years of Smithsonian science. his , join the movement and make the switch to Bird Friendly coffee!

Be sure to stop by the Bird House today to sample Bird Friendly coffee and learn how you can protect tropical forests for future generations.

Photo: Roshan Patel, Smithsonian

Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day! Fuel your next morning birdwatching session with a coffee that supports birds and ...
05/08/2026

Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day! Fuel your next morning birdwatching session with a coffee that supports birds and the environment.

When you drink Smithsonian Bird Friendly-certified coffee, you are protecting critical habitat for hundreds of bird species, including many migratory species you may see in your own backyard. Learn more about how you can help save migratory birds by visiting birdfriendly.si.edu

Photo: Ellie Tahmaseb, Smithsonian

It’s a migration celebration! Join the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday, May 9,...
05/07/2026

It’s a migration celebration! Join the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a special World Migratory Bird Day experience at the Bird House!

🐦 Enjoy bird-themed games and activities
☕ Bird Friendly coffee tastings by Chesapeake Coffee Roasters
🪽 Guided bird walks to learn about wild, free-flying birds
🦆 Keeper Demos
🧠 Interactive learning stations with National Zoo staff and partner organizations!

Reserve your free entry passes online at https://s.si.edu/3Fb8rTy

On Tuesday, we shared an update from our Great Cats team as they prepared to say goodbye to our "queen bee" African lion...
05/07/2026

On Tuesday, we shared an update from our Great Cats team as they prepared to say goodbye to our "queen bee" African lion, Shera. This morning, she was humanely euthanized with her care team by her side.

At 21 years old, Shera was one of the two oldest living lions in Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos. The average lifespan for African lions in human care is 17 years.

“After the last of her female cubs moved to another zoo, Shera bonded more with her human keepers,” said Leigh Pitsko, assistant curator of Great Cats. “She watched the group during staff meetings and chimed in with roars. She closely monitored us as we prepared diets in the kitchen, hoping for an extra handout. Geriatric care required considerable time spent managing Shera with extra TLC, and she loved the attention. Shera was adored and will be greatly missed.”

Shera voluntarily participated in husbandry and medical training, which allowed veterinarians to assess Shera’s health and prescribe appropriate medications. Over the years, keepers and vets successfully managed Shera’s medical conditions, including liver and kidney issues that are common in elderly lions. Like many aging animals, Shera has muscle loss and osteoarthritis. Staff were able to keep her pain levels low and assessed her comfort, in part, based on her willingness to move around her habitat.

In recent weeks, Shera had become slower and weaker in her movements, and less sure-footed in navigating her enclosures. Staff became concerned about her ability to safely move around her living space, especially in areas where stairs and other obstacles are present. Knowing her condition would continue to deteriorate over time, the Great Cats and veterinary teams made the decision to humanely euthanize Shera before she experienced debilitating pain, became unable to move between exhibit spaces or had trouble enjoying life.

In addition to teaching Zoo staff how to successfully build a lion pride, Shera, her mate Luke and sister Naba contributed 13 cubs to their species’ survival. Today, the trio have nearly 50 descendants in zoos across the United States.

Photos by Leigh Pitsko and Roshan Patel/Smithsonian

05/07/2026

If you build it, they will call! 🗣️🐸

When coronated tree frogs are ready to mate, the male will locate a water filled tree cavity and begin calling to nearby females. If the female chooses him, she will lay her eggs in the pool. As Smithsonian scientists prepared to release frogs bred under human care to the wild, the team wondered if they could improve the likelihood of the frogs breeding after release. They built artificial tree holes made of different materials to test which, if any, the frogs preferred.

Once released, the frogs began exploring their new homes immediately and soon were calling to their neighbors. Knowing what types of tree holes the frogs prefer makes it possible for scientists to help the frogs acclimate to the wild. Researchers will decide if installing more artificial breeding sites could help bolster wild populations. This research also tells the team what kind of tree holes should be built when breeding the frogs under human care.

This research is part of the Tropical Amphibian Research Initiative, a collaboration between the amphibianrescue amphibiansurvivalalliance centrojambatu parqueexplora proyecto_rana_arlequin smithsonianzoo and smithsonianpanama. TARI is made possible with support from the BezosEarthFund.

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