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Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2015

Discussion in 'United States' started by Milwaukee Man, 6 Jan 2015.

  1. TZFan

    TZFan Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  2. Milwaukee Man

    Milwaukee Man Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  3. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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  4. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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  5. ctfctf7

    ctfctf7 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    According to the zoo's Facebook page, a crate has been added to one of the elephant yards to begin acclimating and training Kandula to ship out to another zoo for breeding. The zoo hasn't confirmed exactly which zoo he will be going to, anyone have any ideas which it might be? I was thinking St. Louis.
     
  6. Nisha

    Nisha Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  7. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    We are sad to announce that Piper, a one-year-old female chevrotain, died July 27 at the Small Mammal House. Piper was pregnant and nearing the end of her pregnancy. Initial necropsy results suggest that the fetus was in a breach position which may have caused internal organ damage resulting in her death. Animal care staff closely monitored Piper throughout her pregnancy, which was otherwise normal. Zoo visitors can see Brandon, her two-year-old mate, on exhibit.

    From the zoos facebook
     
  8. blospz

    blospz Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    This is sad. They were both so visitor friendly sitting up close to the window. I was looking forward to their baby.
     
  9. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    We are sad to announce that Bela, a 3-year-old female wolf, died at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute July 26. Bela was under intensive care for weeks by SCBI veterinarians for severe metabolic and intestinal abnormalities. Unfortunately, she did not respond to vets’ life-saving efforts, including multiple plasma transfusions and immune support treatments, and was humanely euthanized. SCBI veterinarians, along with a team of internal medicine experts, are studying inflammatory bowel syndrome in maned wolves and hope to learn more from Bela’s case in the coming weeks. Bela was one of just 41 females in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for Maned Wolves. Of those, she was one of 30 females of prime breeding age (less than 8 years old). Although she died before she had the opportunity to reproduce, she was an ambassador for her species and helped teach SCBI scientists and researchers about maned wolf biology and health.

    From the zoos facebook
     
  10. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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  11. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    Wildlife Trafficking: Taking on the #ElephantInTheRoom

    Wildlife Trafficking

    The demand for illegal animal products made from at-risk and endangered species and the exotic pet trade is leading to catastrophic decreases for many populations; it’s now the world’s fourth largest criminal market–after drugs, weapons and human trafficking. Animals across the Zoo are threatened by wildlife trafficking: elephants, tigers and other large cats, great apes and turtles are poached at alarming rates; reptiles, birds, small mammals and Amazonian fish are taken as pets or for food, and birds are collected for their feathers. What can you do?
     
  12. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    We are sad to announce that a 30-year-old male kori bustard at the Bird House died Aug. 1. A pathology report will provide more information, but his health had been in decline due to cancer. He was wild-born and arrived at the Zoo in 2000. He participated in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for kori bustards and sired nearly 50 chicks. He fathered three koris that are currently on exhibit at the Bird House, and he is grandfather to two chicks that hatched earlier this summer. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, kori bustards are considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to threats including hunting, habitat loss, and collisions with power lines. In 2008, the National Zoo won the coveted AZA Edward H. Bean Award for its efforts and success with kori bustards.

    From the zoos facebook
     
  13. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I didn't know he was wild born. Anyone know where?

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  14. CleZooMan

    CleZooMan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    This zoo is awesome, but they should fix the parking situation. On a recent DC vacation, after we were tired, thirsty, and overheated from walking all around the zoo, it took us 20 minutes to find Parking Lot E. They should hire employees with a better sense of direction.
     
  15. Milwaukee Man

    Milwaukee Man Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  16. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    We are sad to share that Zabini, one of our elderly cheetahs at the Cheetah Conservation Station, was humanely euthanized late Monday evening. He was being treated for hind limb weakness, which can be a sign of a neurological disorder. He was anesthetized for a full veterinary exam on Monday, but never fully regained consciousness. Our veterinarians preformed a second exam later that day and found worsening symptoms of liver and kidney disease. Due to his quickly declining quality of life, our animal care team made the decision to humanely euthanize him.
    Zabini lived in a coalition with his brother Granger. Male cheetahs usually live in coalitions made up of brothers, but can sometimes also live on their own. Keepers expect Granger to adjust to the transition of living as a solitary male well. He has not shown behavioral changes in the past when separated from Zabini. Zoo visitors can see Granger and our two other male cheetahs at the Cheetah Conservation Station

    From the zoos facebook.
     
  17. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    Bandar and Sukacita the tiger cubs turned 2 yesterday
     
  18. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    "Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists have confirmed a secondary rise in giant panda Mei Xiang's (may-SHONG) urinary progesterone levels. The slow rise started July 20 and indicates that she will either have a cub or experience the end of a pseudopregnancy within 30 to 50 days. Scientists have been carefully tracking Mei Xiang's hormone levels since she was artificially inseminated April 26 and 27. The inseminations used frozen sperm collected from Hui Hui, a panda living in China, and fresh sperm collected from the National Zoo's Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN).

    The Zoo's panda team has been monitoring Mei Xiang very closely since the procedures. Veterinarians will continue regular ultrasounds as Mei Xiang chooses to participate in them. They are monitoring changes in her reproductive tract and evaluating for evidence of a fetus. The only way to definitively determine if a giant panda is pregnant is to detect a fetus on an ultrasound. Scientists will also continue to monitor her hormone levels through daily analyses. A female's behavior and hormones mimic a pregnancy even if she is experiencing a pseudopregnancy. Giant panda fetuses do not start developing until the final weeks of gestation, making it difficult to determine if there is a pregnancy. It may still be too early to detect a fetus on an ultrasound.

    Mei Xiang has begun exhibiting behaviors consistent with a rise in urinary progesterone. She is nest building, choosing to spend more time in her den, sleeping more and eating less. The area of the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat closest to her den will soon close to provide her with quiet; Mei Xiang shows extra sensitivity to noise during the final weeks of a pseudopregnancy or pregnancy. Panda fans can watch Mei Xiang on the panda cams, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, and the Zoo will continue providing regular updates on Mei Xiang using #PandaStory on Instagram.

    Visitors to the panda habitat can see Tian Tian and Bao Bao outside as usual, as well as Mei Xiang when she chooses to go into her outdoor exhibit.
    Mei Xiang has given birth to two surviving cubs, Tai Shan (tie-SHON) and Bao Bao. Tai Shan was born July 9, 2005, and he now lives in China. Bao Bao was born Aug. 23, 2013. She will live at the Zoo until she turns 4; she will then go to live in China and eventually enter the giant panda breeding program. Tai Shan and Bao Bao were born as the result of artificial inseminations"

    From the zoos website.
     
  19. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    Here's more articles about it.

    Smithsonian National Zoo panda is pregnant!

    Smithsonian National Zoo: panda Mei Xiang is pregnant | am New York

    Panda pregnancy watch is on at Washington’s National Zoo

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...cb54e2-3f64-11e5-8d45-d815146f81fa_story.html

    Giant Panda Mei Xiang Has Rising Hormone Levels, National Zoo Says

    http://www.nbcwashington.com/entert...nda-Has-Rising-Hormone-Levels--321279871.html
     
    Last edited: 10 Aug 2015
  20. dcpandafan

    dcpandafan Well-Known Member

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    When a Trip to the Zoo Resulted in an Engineering Breakthrough
    Megan Leftwich, an engineering professor at George Washington University, is building a robotic flipper based on her observations of sea lions

    When a Trip to the Zoo Resulted in an Engineering Breakthrough | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian

    "Most people don’t think about fluid dynamics when it comes to childbirth. But Megan Leftwich does.

    The professor of mechanical and space engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. studies biologically inspired flows, such as the mechanisms that enable fish to swim or the interaction between fluids and other forces as a baby passes through the birth canal."