National Zoo

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After 'Long Dark Drought,' Pandas Returning to DC Zoo
National Zoo's
'Panda Drought' Is Over
UPDATED
Oct 15, 2024 1:40 PM CDT

National Zoo's 'Panda Drought' Is Over

Pair arrives in DC from China

(Newser) - The National Zoo's long, dark panda drought has come to an end. Eleven months after the Washington, DC, zoo sent its three wildly popular pandas—Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji— back to China , a new pair of bears arrived Tuesday morning, the AP reports....

National Zoo Is Getting Visitors
Panda Diplomacy Returns
May 29, 2024 10:44 AM CDT

Panda Diplomacy Returns

China is sending 2 young giant pandas to the National Zoo later this year

(Newser) - The National Zoo won't have to wait long to refill its panda habitat, reports the Washington Post , with the zoo announcing that China is sending two young pandas to DC later this year. The pair of 2-year-olds are female Qing Bao ("green" and "treasure" in Mandarin) and...

A Unique Love Story Has Ended
A Unique
Zoo Love Story
Has Ended
Feb 5, 2024 1:22 PM CST

A Unique Zoo Love Story Has Ended

Walnut, a white-naped crane who attacked potential mates but bonded with her keeper, has died

(Newser) - One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has passed away at age 42, reports the AP . She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute,...

Say Goodbye to Tian Tian and Family

Giant panda, as well as mate Mei Xiang and cub Xiao Qi Ji are heading back to China on Wednesday

(Newser) - For nearly a quarter century, giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have called the Smithsonian's National Zoo in DC home, part of a "panda diplomacy" initiative with China established during the Nixon years that involved loaning pandas to the US for breeding and research purposes. Now, the...

DC to Lose Famous Trio Due to 'Punitive Panda Diplomacy'

Amid strained relations with China, it's not clear if deal for pandas struck by Nixon will be renewed

(Newser) - The National Zoo's three giant pandas—Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji—are set to return to China in early December, with no public signs that the 50-year-old exchange agreement struck by former President Nixon will continue, reports the AP . National Zoo officials have remained...

A Big Panda Milestone Is Marked With Cake

Over the weekend, a celebration of 50 years of pandas at the National Zoo

(Newser) - The "cake" was made from frozen fruit juice, sweet potatoes, carrots, and sugar cane, and it lasted about 15 minutes once giant panda mama Mei Xiang and her cub Xiao Qi Ji got hold of it. The National Zoo's most famous tenants had an enthusiastic breakfast Saturday in...

9 Big Cats at National Zoo Being Treated for COVID

Keepers aren't sure how the lions and tigers got sick

(Newser) - Lions and tigers and … COVID? Several big cats at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, have tested positive after showing symptoms like decreased appetite, lethargy, and sneezing, per NBC 4 Washington . Zoo officials aren’t sure how the big cats got sick—they’re too far from visitors...

Giant Panda Delivers 'Miracle' Cub' at DC's National Zoo

Mei Xiang, 22, is oldest giant panda in US to give birth, also first to do so in US using frozen semen

(Newser) - "A precious giant panda cub has arrived!" That was the excited tweet Friday evening from the National Zoo in Washington, DC, announcing the birth of what the Washington Post calls a "miracle cub." Giant panda Mei Xiang, 22, delivered a "wonderful, wiggly cub" at 6:...

National Zoo's New Baby Dies in Fall

2 golden lion tamarins were born Friday

(Newser) - When Smithsonian.com reported on Friday's birth of two golden lion tamarins at the National Zoo, it cautioned that 50% of infants typically don't make it to age one. That dour statistic has played itself out: One of the two died at just four days old on Tuesday,...

Ollie the Bobcat Escapes DC Zoo
Ollie the Bobcat
Escapes DC Zoo
Jan 30, 2017 5:03 PM CST

Ollie the Bobcat Escapes DC Zoo

She's 25 pounds and resembles a big house cat

(Newser) - A 25-pound bobcat has sprung herself from the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Ollie went missing Monday morning, probably through an opening in the mesh around her enclosure, reports WTOP . Zoo officials hope she doesn't get into the adjacent Rock Creek Park, which they describe as the perfect place...

National Zoo's Baby Panda Is No Shrinking Violet

Bei Bei is performing well ahead of his public debut

(Newser) - If the youngest giant panda cub at the National Zoo is stressed out about appearing in front of crowds for the first time, he isn't showing it. Keepers were expecting Bei Bei to squawk and squirm during an audience with a small media contingent Monday. Instead, he quickly fell...

We Now Know the Panda Cub's Gender

Surviving panda twin is a male: National Zoo

(Newser) - The National Zoo's panda parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, have a son. The zoo announced this morning that the surviving panda cub is male and the son of the zoo's male panda, Tian Tian. Mei Xiang gave birth to fraternal twins Saturday, but the smaller cub—also...

Tiny Panda Cub Twin Dies
 Tiny Panda Cub Twin Dies 
UPDATED
Aug 26, 2015 3:38 PM CDT

Tiny Panda Cub Twin Dies

Mei Xiang loses the smaller of her two babies

(Newser) - A heartbreaking update to the story of Mei Xiang's panda cubs: The smaller twin born to the National Zoo panda has died. The new mom had started ignoring the smaller cub in favor of nursing the bigger one, and the zoo tweeted today, "We are sad to report...

Panda Mom Is Ignoring One of Her New Cubs

Smaller cub in care of vets is having digestive issues

(Newser) - Workers at the National Zoo are continuing to care for one panda cub while the other is safely in the care of its mother—but it appears Mei Xiang has decided she is "not a willing participant" in the zoo's swapping program , reports Smithsonian . Since the twin cubs'...

Surprise! Panda Actually Gave Birth to Twins

Mei Xiang pulls a fast one on the National Zoo

(Newser) - The National Zoo's blessed event yesterday has multiplied by two, with the unexpected addition of a second panda cub, reports the Washington Post . Zoo officials were still celebrating the birth of Mei Xiang's first cub yesterday at 5:34pm—with a rep crowing that the zoo was "...

National Zoo's Giant Panda Gives Birth

Mei Xiang is a mom again

(Newser) - Great news out of the National Zoo in Washington this afternoon: The giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth at 5:34pm, the zoo announced via tweet . No word yet on the gender. The Washington Post notes that Mei Xiang has given birth to four other cubs since 2005, two of...

Inside the Insanely Tricky Process of Breeding Pandas

Cross your fingers: a panda cub could be on the way

(Newser) - Congratulations are in order for the National Zoo's female giant panda—or so veterinarians hope based on an ultrasound yesterday: Mei Xiang is presumably pregnant. Experts are cautious as the 1.5-inch-long fetus could still be reabsorbed or the panda could miscarry. Research vet Pierre Comizzoli says the ultrasound...

Nixon Worried Pandas Didn't Know How to Have Sex

'The only way they learn is to watch other pandas mate'

(Newser) - It's more than a little disturbing that America's least sexy president spent a nanosecond thinking about panda sex—but a recorded conversation reveals none other than Richard Nixon telling Washington Star foreign editor Crosby Noyes that, "They don't know how to mate." The recording comes...

Zoo Saves Sloth Bear Cub After Mom Eats Siblings

Keepers are hand-raising her for now

(Newser) - Animal keepers at the National Zoo have saved a sloth bear cub after two others were eaten by the mother. The three cubs were born in December to a mother named Khali. One was eaten within 20 minutes, and a second cub was eaten after seven days. The zoo says...

Panda News at National Zoo: 'We Have a Cub!'

Mei Xiang gives birth to a female

(Newser) - A giant panda at Washington's National Zoo has given birth to her third cub, a female. Mei Xiang gave birth late this afternoon, two hours after her water broke. Zoo officials said its panda team heard the cub vocalize and said Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and...

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