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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: National Zoo

National Zoo stories: 13 news summaries
birthday slideshow

 Tai Shan Turns 4  


Jul 9, 09 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tai Shan, the giant panda who captivated the world as a cub, turned 4 today and celebrated with a huge birthday cake only an animal could love. The three-tiered concoction was a frozen medley of water, beet juice, shredded beets, and bamboo, WTOP reports. Tai Shan, who is now considered... More »

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Washington DC • birthday • mammals • panda • vegetarianism • birthday party • National Zoo • pandas • panda diplomacy • giant pandas • Tai Shan • Tian Tian • Mei Xiang

(Newser) - Giant panda Mei Xiang, whose first cub became an international superstar, is not pregnant, National Zoo officials said today. The panda, who was artificially inseminated in January, experienced her third false pregnancy in as many years, the Washington Post reports. Four-year-old Tai Shan, Mei Xiang's only cub to survive infancy,... More »

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China • endangered species • Washington DC • Washington • panda • National Zoo • giant pandas • Tai Shan • Mei Xiang

Stimulus Bill Shines on National Zoo

Despite ban, bailout
will fortify homes for animals in DC

May 4, 09 5:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Luke the Lion is expecting home renovations while animals around the country are stuck with what they've got, Pro Publica reports. Luke's trick: living in the National Zoo in Washington, DC. The economic stimulus law forbids local and state outlays to zoos, but neglected to mention the National Zoo,... More »

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zoo • economic stimulus package • National Zoo

(Newser) - The National Zoo’s female giant panda may be pregnant, the Washington Post reports. Volunteers are monitoring Mei Xiang around the clock after zookeepers noticed behavioral changes that indicate the mom to celebu-panda Tai Shan is expecting, including creating a bamboo den in a dark and quiet place, and cradling... More »

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pregnancy • animal • National Zoo • giant pandas • artificial insemination • Tai Shan • Mei Xiang

Pandas: Better at Crowd Pleasing Than Breeding

For so many reasons, these cute bears should probably never have survived

Apr 5, 09 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pandas have a lot working against them when it comes to to making babies: a once-yearly ovulation cycle, genetic inbreeding due to a limited captive population, and, apparently, some degree of ineptness at copulation itself. Zoo officials frequently see their excitement crushed by what turn out to be pseudopregnancies, and... More »

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China • captivity • panda • National Zoo • giant pandas

 Rare Leopard Cubs Born at Zoo 

Twins are DC Zoo's first clouded leopard babies in 16 years

Mar 25, 09 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - The National Zoo just got a tiny bit cuter with the birth of two rare clouded leopard cubs at its conservation center, the Washington Post reports. The babies are the first of their endangered species, called ghost leopards for their blurry black-and-tan spots, born at the zoo in 16 years.... More »

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endangered species • Washington DC • leopards • National Zoo

 Whistling 
 Orangutan 
 Surprises 
 Scientists  

Her talent may help explain how human speech evolved

Feb 21, 09 8:24 AM CST
(Newser) - An orangutan at Washington's National Zoo has pleased her caretakers with a unique skill—she's taken up whistling. Researchers have previously taught apes to do so, but Bonnie is different in that she started on her own, apparently by mimicking zookeepers, NPR reports. (She also imitates workers sweeping floors and... More »

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evolution • Washington DC • apes • orangutans • speech • National Zoo • whistling

Panda Lovin' Leaves DC Zoo Wanting

Bears fail again at 'competent mating'; keepers help out

Jan 19, 09 8:40 AM CST
(Newser) - A romantic day in the park amid inaugural hubbub wasn’t enough to propagate the genes of two famous pandas at Washington’s National Zoo, the Washington Post reports. The pair had given mating calls, prompting hopes for the conception of a new member of the endangered species, which is... More »

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panda • Washington, DC • National Zoo • giant pandas • artificial insemination • mating • Tai Shan • Tian Tian • Mei Xiang

National Zoo Pleads for Bamboo 

Own harvest has failed; may not have enough
to get through winter

Jan 15, 09 7:05 AM CST
(Newser) - The National Zoo is appealing for donations from landowners in the Washington area who may have stands of green crunchy bamboo stalks, reports the Washington Post. The zoo's own harvest of bamboo has failed and with the zoo's giant pandas, red pandas, elephants and gorillas eating 75,000 pounds of... More »

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panda • National Zoo • bamboo • Tai Shan • Tian Tian • Mei Xiang • Phyllostachys genus • Department of Animal Nutrition • Conservation Research Center

 DC Zoo Evicting Hippo

'Happy' must move to make place for elephants

Aug 3, 08 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The National Zoo is adding a new elephant sanctuary, reports the Washington Post, and the move is putting its sole Nile hippopotamus, Happy, out on the street in a year or so. The zoo will hold onto its pygmy hippos, but is more committed to Asian elephant programs. "... More »

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zoo • zookeeper • Nile • pygmy hippos • hippopotamus • National Zoo

 National Zoo's Panda Preggers? 

Hormone levels suggest Mei Xiang may be expecting

Jun 20, 08 11:56 AM CDT
(AP) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either... More »

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pregnancy • breeding • Washington DC • hormones • zoo • panda • National Zoo

 Celebs Earn 
 Stripes Helping
 Save Tigers 

Harrison Ford, Bo Derek on board with World Bank effort to preserve habitats

Jun 10, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Actors Bo Derek, Harrison Ford, and Robert Duvall helped the World Bank kick off a tiger-preservation campaign yesterday in Washington, CNN reports, with efforts to save the endangered species' habitats atop the list. Derek, who works with the US State Department to fight trafficking, says the tiger initiative should stem... More »

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endangered species • environment • Hollywood • World Bank • Robert Zoellick • Harrison Ford • tiger • Robert Duvall • National Zoo • Bo Derek

 Taming Gorilla Heart 
 Disease a Beastly Task 

With great apes dying at alarming rates, zoos try to train some difficult patients

Mar 14, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - With heart disease nearly epidemic among America’s captive gorilla population, zookeepers are trying to train the great apes to submit to the human medical procedures that could save their lives. But getting a gorilla to sit still for a blood test is a taxing problem, one the National Zoo... More »

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heart disease • gorilla • zookeeper • Western Lowland Gorilla • National Zoo • pandas • Metroparks Zoo • fibrosing cardiomyopathy

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