Great Cats The Great Cats exhibit on Lion/Tiger Hill features Sumatran tigers and African lions—living, breathing, roaring great cats. They are ambassadors for their wild relatives, and for the Zoo's conservation and science initiatives for tigers, lions, and many other cats, which, even if not great in size, are still great! Lions and tigers are on exhibit between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., daily (weather permitting).
Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is a collaborative effort of biologists and nature enthusiasts from around the world. On more than 10,000 World Wide Web pages, the project provides information about biodiversity, the characteristics of different groups of organisms, and their evolutionary history (phylogeny). Each page contains information about a particular group, e.g., salamanders, segmented worms, phlox flowers, tyrannosaurs, euglenids, Heliconius butterflies, club fungi, or the vampire squid. ToL pages are linked one to another hierarchically, in the form of the evolutionary tree of life. Starting with the root of all Life on Earth and moving out along diverging branches to individual species, the structure of the ToL project thus illustrates the genetic connections between all living things.
Great Apes and Other Primates Keepers provide the primates with enrichment—enclosures, socialization, objects, sounds, smells and other stimuli—to enhance their well-being and give them an outlet to demonstrate their species-typical behaviors. In addition to the Orangutan Rope-Pull and Wet Zone exhibits at Think Tank, animals have plenty of activities to keep them busy throughout the day. The Zoo’s primates receive between four and eight forms of enrichment every day to keep them physically and mentally active. Keepers maintain a detailed calendar to ensure that the items and experiences remain novel and interesting. Novel items and activities include iPads (for playing with various apps), musical instruments, painting, mirrors, boomer balls, rubber tubs, burlap, paper and boxes among others.
Rare Photographs of Extinct Animals Last Thylacine yawning: Note the unusual extent to which it was able to open its jaws From panthers and pandas to rhinos and tigers, dwindling animal numbers speak of the need to step up conservation efforts – if it’s not already too late. As a kind of wake-up call, we decided to take a look at seven extinct species captured on camera. With modern photography having only been invented in the 1820s, these snapshots are visible testament to just how recently the creatures shown were wiped out – and a jarring reminder of the precarious situation for many species still left on the planet. Karl Fabricius Scribol Staff
Giant Pandas Sign up to get panda news from the Zoo. Giant pandas are black and white bears that live in temperate-zone bamboo forests in central China. Among the best recognized—but rarest—animals in the world, they have come to symbolize endangered species and conservation efforts. As few as 1,600 giant pandas survive in the mountain forests of central China. Clouded leopard declared extinct in Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan) A Formosan cloud leopard, now extinct in Taiwan. By Douglas Main, OurAmazingPlanet The Formosan clouded leopard, a clouded-leopard subspecies native to Taiwan, is now extinct, according to a team of zoologists.
Amazonia Frogs and Amphibians In 1999, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists worked with a researcher at the University of Maine to describe a chytrid fungus that causes the deadly amphibian skin disease chytridiomycosis. Since then, the understanding of amphibian decline and this disease has improved greatly. Scientists now suspect that amphibian chytrid fungus originated in southern Africa. Global biodiversity information facility Try out the new GBIF portal! Why not try out the new GBIF portal at www.gbif.org, which has many more features and includes lots of information about the GBIF community, including great examples of data uses in research and interesting applications? The old GBIF data portal which you are viewing now will continue to be supported until we are satisfied it can be taken down without causing major inconvenience. Be aware that the content here is static and has not been updated since the launch of the new portal on 9 October 2013.