Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2021

A male Lesser kudu was born April 28:

Male Lesser Kudu Born at Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Cheetah Conservation Station keepers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo are celebrating the arrival of a male lesser kudu calf, who was born Mar. 28 to 7-year-old mother Rogue and 10-year-old father Garrett.

When keepers arrived onsite Mar. 29, they discovered Rogue had given birth overnight. Later that day, Zoo veterinarians conducted a brief exam of the newborn and found him to be healthy and strong. He is the third calf for both parents; older brothers Kushukuru and Toba were born in January and October 2019, respectively.
 
Article/update on the zoo’s Southern cassowary that arrived last year: Meet Cassowary Brothers Irwin and Dundee

As the males (from the same clutch, born three days apart), approach their second birthday; they’ve been given their own habitats. Their casques are growing nicely!

These are one of my favourite bird species, and one I’ve been lucky enough to encounter a few times in the wild in Queensland, Australia.
 
I have some updates:
1.A male lesser kudu was born in April. That leads the zoo to five kudus, including his two brothers and mom and dad. At 10 years old, Garrett seems to be an older male kudu to breed.
2. The reptile house is now open on weekends.
3. There are now only two beavers at the zoo, the new female Poplar and the younger male Aspen. I suspect Chipper has passed away. If so, he was 20 years old, which is incredibly ancient in beaver years.
 
Northern snake heads will be exhibited on Aisa Trail soon. Signage was installed (in the similar and brilliant theme of current Asia/ Elephant Trails graphics) and the water was cycling. The exhibit is in the former Japanese giant salamander exhibited near the entrance to the Giant panda house. They have been housed in the Reptile House after their very short stay in Asia Trail

The expansion of one of the additional elephant yards is finished. The expansion absorbed the former hippo pool and includes a training gate and platform for keeper training sessions. Overall, I hardly noticed much of a change besides the removal of a large oak tree which used to be in the former hippo exhibit. I'm always disappointed with this exhibit in my opinion. Despite having so many elephants, it's rare I'll see more than one or two at a time. The awkward viewing areas around the exhibit just makes viewing the elephants difficult.
 
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Visited the zoo today. The small mammal house is open once again, and the zoo has a new male sloth bear. However, he and their resident bear Niko are not on exhibit due to the glass being broken in both yards.
 
Three black-footed ferret kits born at SCBI in May received their names after a public vote (Aster, Swifty, and Aspen).
Black-Footed Ferret Kits Receive Names at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

The zoo has added a third lemur species to Lemur Island, a brother pair of collared brown lemurs.
Collared brown lemur

The zoo has added the northern snakehead to the Asia Trail species list on the website. The sloth bears were removed and are now listed as "not currently on exhibit". As mentioned before the glass viewing for both yards is broken
Northern snakehead fish
 
NAIB Volunteer said:
Northern snake heads will be exhibited on Aisa Trail soon. Signage was installed (in the similar and brilliant theme of current Asia/ Elephant Trails graphics) and the water was cycling. The exhibit is in the former Japanese giant salamander exhibited near the entrance to the Giant panda house. They have been housed in the Reptile House after their very short stay in Asia Trail

The expansion of one of the additional elephant yards is finished. The expansion absorbed the former hippo pool and includes a training gate and platform for keeper training sessions. Overall, I hardly noticed much of a change besides the removal of a large oak tree which used to be in the former hippo exhibit. I'm always disappointed with this exhibit in my opinion. Despite having so many elephants, it's rare I'll see more than one or two at a time. The awkward viewing areas around the exhibit just makes viewing the elephants difficult.
Click to expand...

I hate to be the person who comments on something a month after the fact but I was just reading over this and found your opinion intriguing. Although I do agree it can be underwhelming when you can only see one or two at a time. It really goes to show how well the zoo seems to manage its herd. Especially on my most recent visits, seeing all the gates open and watching them walk from yard one (where the hippo exhibit was absorbed) to yard 4 (long yard under the bridge to birdhouse) and back on the search for food from their hay boxes or even just to visit another ele is the highlight of my trip. Especially when I feel it's so hard to find "autonomy" in many zoo's herds. To visit a zoo with a herd of five and be able to see where each goes and spends its time really makes the experience better for me. I don't know if I'm bothered with only seeing one or two because when you do end up seeing all 5 it makes it that more enjoyable and memorable.
 
Andrew_NZP said:
Three black-footed ferret kits born at SCBI in May received their names after a public vote (Aster, Swifty, and Aspen).
Black-Footed Ferret Kits Receive Names at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

The zoo has added a third lemur species to Lemur Island, a brother pair of collared brown lemurs.
Collared brown lemur

The zoo has added the northern snakehead to the Asia Trail species list on the website. The sloth bears were removed and are now listed as "not currently on exhibit". As mentioned before the glass viewing for both yards is broken
Northern snakehead fish
Click to expand...

Just to add on to your note about the sloth bears. I was there on Friday and were in process of replacing the glass. So maybe soon? I think I also read they're doing intros which can be long depending on personalities
 
Does the zoo still keep Schmidt’s red tailed monkey? I haven’t gone in 2 years but I didn’t see it last time but it was still signed
 
The new sloth bears name is Deemak. It seems like they are back on exhibit because the website previously said “not currently on exhibit”.

Looks like Lek the fishing cat has left and has been replaced by a new male named Hunter. Lek is about 12 so he is not the most valuable breeding member for the SSP.
 
Visited the zoo today. All buildings minus the Bird House of course seemed to be open. But one thing I noticed today is it seems the zoo is still actively trying to get their female elephant Rani pregnant. I think they may have some better luck soon. Spike the zoo's resident male seems to me as if he is visibly in musth(constant urine dribbling, leaking temporal gland, and seems irritable when working with the keepers). From what I saw he is also actively pursuing Maharani. He would not let her out of his sight. Not to mention, in the hour I spent watching the two of them they bred 3 possibly 4 times(they ran out of view when he went to mount her). Fingers crossed the zoo has some luck with the two of them.
 
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