Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2018

"New at the Zoo: Dama Gazelle Calves"
New at the Zoo: Dama Gazelle Calves

 

On the zoos website, a bunch of species the zoo used to keep are listed as "not currently on exhibit".

Here's two examples:

Giant anteater

Malagasy giant jumping rat

Does anyone know if these species are back, or if the zoo is just returning to old habits of listing species online that they no longer keep?

 

Perhaps it is species they own, thus technically counted as within their collection, that aren't currently at the zoo? The giant anteaters went to Little Rock; I have no reason to believe they acquired more just to keep them off display somewhere, unless the SSP requested it.

 

Endangered Eld’s Deer Born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

 

Curious: would Eld's deer be able to live in mixed exhibit space alongside Asian elephants? I've seen wild deer hanging out inside the elephant spaces, so was wondering.

 

Theoretically yes. It all depends on size and configuration of exhibit space as well as size and personalities of each herd.

 

They already are a mixed-species exhibit, if you count the white-tailed deer.

 

The wild ones, right? Or are there white-tailed deer maintained by the zoo?

 

wild

 

Sooooo I somehow didn't know the Amazonia building exists, despite going to the zoo at least once a year for 20 years? Species list:
Main Building
Adonis Catfish
Amazon Milk Frog
Arapaima
Armoured Catfish
Arowana
Arrau Turtle
Banded Leporinus
Black Doradid
Black Ghost Knifefish
Black Pacu
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Blue Whale Catfish
Blue-gray Tanager
Bluntnose Knifefish
Brazilian Rainbow Boa
Cachapira
Cardinal Tetra
Chocolate-colored Catfish
Cory Catfish
Electric Eel
Elephant-nose Knifefish
Emerald Catfish
Flagtail Characin
Freshwater Stingray
Glass Knifefish
Golden Whiptail Catfish
Goliath Bird-eating Spider
Green Aracari
Hawk-headed Parrot
Kitty Tetra
Lemon Tetra
Marbled Whiptail Catfish
Matamata
Neon Tetra
Oscar
Panda Cory
Parrot Cichlid
Peacock Cichlid
Penguin Tetra
Pictus Catfish
Pinktail Chalceus
Plecostomus
Porthole Catfish
Red Piranha
Red-crested Cardinal
Redheaded Eartheater
Redhook Pacu
Redtail Catfish
Ringed Teal
Roseate Spoonbill
Shovelnose Catfish
Silver Characin
Silver Dollar
Silver Hatchetfish
Silver-beaked Tanager
Slender Hemiodus
Smooth-sided Toad
South American Lungfish
Spotted Hatchetfish
Sunbittern
Sunshine Pleco
Surinam Toad
Turquoise Severum
Twig Catfish
Two-toed Sloth
Violet Line Piranha
White-eared Titi Monkey
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Yellow-spotted Sideneck Turtle

Amphibian Alert
African Clawed Frog
Bicolor Poison Frog
Blue Poison Frog
Caecilian
Dyeing Poison Frog
Eastern Red Spotted Newt
Fowler’s Toad
Golden Poison Frog
Green and Black Poison Frog
Panamanian Golden Frog
Sabana Surinam Toad
Strawbery Poison Frog
Yellow-banded Poison Frog

Coral Lab
Brittle Star
Capricornis
Cauliflower Coral
Clown Anemonefish
Fire Shrimp
Giant Clam
Gorgonian
Hammer Coral
Hermit Crab
Orange Cup Coral
Porcelain Crab
Pulsing Xenia
Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
Sinularia
Smooth Cauliflower Coral
Staghorn Coral
Thin Birdsnest Coral
Trumpet Coral
Tube Anemone
Whisker Coral
Zoanthids

 

Current Reptile Discovery Center species list:
African Pancake Tortoise
African Plated Lizard
Aldabra Tortoise
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Asian Water Dragon
Australian Big-headed Turtle
Australian Snake-necked Turtle
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Black-headed Python
Blue Poison Frog
Boa Constrictor
Caiman Lizard
Central American Bushmaster
Chameleon Forest Dragon
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Common Kingsnake
Common Musk Turtle
Coronated Treefrog
Cuban Crocodile (3 exhibits)
Dyeing Poison Frog (off exhibit)
Eastern Corn Snake
Eastern Diamondback
Eastern Indigo Snake
Emerald Tree Monitor
Emperor Newt
European Glass Lizard
Eyelash Palm Pitviper
False Water Cobra
Fiji Island Iguana
Fly River Turtle
Gaboon Viper
Gharial
Gila Monster
Golden Mantella
Grand Cayman Iguana
Green Anaconda
Green Crested Basilisk
Green Tree Python
Hellbender
Indochinese Box Turtle
King Cobra
Leaf-tailed Gecko (“exhibit in preparation”)
Lemur Frog
Long-tailed Salamander
Madagascar Giant Day Gecko
Mangrove Snake
Matamata Turtle
McCord’s Box Turtle
Mexican Lanceheaded Rattlesnake
New Caledonia Giant Gecko
Northern Blue-Tongued Skink
Northern Copperhead
Northern Pine Snake
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad
Painted Terrapin
Philippine Crocodile
Prehensile-tailed Skink
Red-backed Salamander
Red-eyed Treefrog
Rhinoceros Snake
Ridgetail Monitor
Sambava Tomato Frog
Sinaloan Milksnake
Spider Tortoise (2 exhibits)
Spotted Pond Turtle
Spotted Turtle
Taylor’s Cantil
Tentacled Snake (with unlabeled fish)
Three-banded Box Turtle
Timor Python
Tokay Gecko
Vietnamese Mossy Frog
Yellow –spotted Amazon River Turtle

 

The indoor panda building is going to occasionally be closed for renovations. It sounds like nothing is being done to the actual enclosures, just the signage and other things on the public side. The pandas will be outside if the building is closed so they will remain viewable. The Panda House is Getting a Makeover

 

Naked Mole-rat Queen Gives Birth to Three Pups at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

 

New Whooping Crane Breeding Facility Opens at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

 

LOVE All this info!! Could you do one for the Small Mammal House??

 

I didn't take sign photos in the SMH because the animals are pretty much all on their website, but between that and memory, in no particular order:
Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
Lesser Madagascar hedgehog tenrec
Greater Madagascar hedgehog tenrec (was off exhibit)
Long-tailed Chinchilla
Black-footed Ferret
Sand Cat
Common Opossum
Fennec Fox
Brush-tailed Bettong
Meerkat
Von der Decken's Hornbill
Green Aracari
Prehensile-tailed Porcupine
Larger Malay Mouse-deer
Golden Lion Tamarin
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin
Goeldi's Monkey
Geoffroy's Marmoset
Dwarf Mongoose
Prevost's Squirrel
Southern Tamandua
Striped Skunk
Naked Mole-rat
Damaraland Mole Rat
Rock Hyrax
Screaming Hairy Armadillo
La Plata Three-banded Armadillo
Southern Two-toed Sloth
Pale-headed Saki Monkey
Northern Tree Shrew
Red-ruffed Lemur
Red-rumped Agouti
White-nosed Coati

Several of these have multiple exhibits in the building.

For both Amazonia and the Reptile building, I have photos of all of the signs so can look up latin names if anyone needs them

 

Here's an interesting article on the zoo's study of mammal's milk.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/scie...c-milks/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.eb617b749914

 

And here's another one.

"So son what are you doing?" "....I'm a veterinarian".

 

I quite agree! I never see or identify this many specimens at Amazonia, so this is a great reminder how deep this collection is. Thanks!

 

You're welcome! A lot of the thanks should go to the zoo, for being good about signage The main thing I didn't see was the sloth, who I'm assuming wasn't out because I spent way too much time looking for it.