Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2017

I heard from a zookeeper that Tusa, the male red panda will be leaving the zoo this week to move to a Colorado zoo on a SSP recommendation. As of now, Asa, the female red panda will stay at the zoo. A mother and cub from the SCBI will eventually move to the zoo and probably rotate on exhibit with Asa. If I were to guess which mother and cub it was I would say Nutmeg, who had cub(s) (one died) earlier this year.
 
The short-eared elephant shrew is no longer on exhibit (and presumably no longer alive). The exhibit was slightly renovated for greater hedgehog tenrec (mostly a change of substrate) but this is odd as I was once told by a keeper that they only had one elderly male. Perhaps the situation had changed, but I didn’t see any at all so I wouldn’t know. I uploaded a photo of the exhibit to the gallery.

I saw the Electric Fishes exhibit for the first time today. The section of Amazonia overall is cool, but each individual exhibit really lacks creativity. The animals exhibited are electric eel, black ghost knifefish, and bluntnose knifefish.

As always, a few changes were made in the Reptile Discovery Center. Most notably, Meller’s chameleon is now on exhibit, replacing veiled. Also, the Jewels of Appalachia exhibit has had its fair share of problems and incompatibility between salamander species, and all that is left in it are six long-tailed salamanders.
 
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