National Zoo*Baltimore Zoo*Burke Lake*Chspke. Bay*Northern VA
Birds
cats.html
Captive
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National Zoo
Cats
National Zoo
Captive
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Kiska
June 23, 2001
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Brown Bear
Kiska, our Kodiak bear
(Information from the National Zoo)
Salmon Specialist: Brown bears will eat just about anything - and for
those living around coastal Alaska and Russia, what's most available is salmon. In fact, biologists suspect that
these salmon-eaters are among the largest brown bears because of their rich diet.
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Latin Name:
Ursus arctos
Relatives:
Kodiak and grizzly bears are both subspecies of brown bear
(the Zoo's brown bears are Kodiaks).
Reproduction:
Mothers give birth during hibernation. Cubs are born small, blind and furless.
Status:
Once had the largest natural range of any land mammal; several subspecies now endangered.
Range:
North America, Asia, Europe.
Habitat:
Wide variety: forest, tundra grassland.
National Zoo
Captive
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Kiska - closeup
Dec. 9, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Kiska - eating
Dec. 16, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Kiska - eating
Dec. 16, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Gray kangaroos
Nov. 13, 2001
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Western Gray Kangaroo
(Information from the National Zoo)
Great Hoppers: How fast can you hop? Kangaroos bound to speeds of around
30 mph (48 km/h). And their hopping isn't just fast; it's efficient. Their spring-like hind legs absorb energy as they bend. For kangaroos, moving fast is almost as easy as moving slowly.
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Latin Name:
Macropus fuliginosus
Natural Diet:
Grasses and shrubs.
Reproduction:
Competing males kick-box for breeding opportunities.
Social Structure:
Associate in groups (called "mobs") of two to ten animals.
Range:
Western and southern Australia; Kangaroo Island.
Habitat:
Forest and open woodland.
National Zoo
Captive
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Mexican Wolf
October 28, 2001
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Mexican Wolf
(Information from the National Zoo)
Call of the wild: Why do wolves howl? Biologists believe that howling serves many functions: it strengthens social bonds, lets neighboring packs "check in" without direct conflict, and helps wolves find the pack. Wolves howl during times of excitement, such as after making a kill.
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Latin Name:
Canis lupus baileyi
Natural Diet:
Primarily large mammals such as deer, elk, and pronghorn antelope.
Social Structure:
"Pack" of a breeding pair, their pups, and often some older offspring of previous years.
Conservation:
Endangered. Bred in zoos under an AZA Species Survival Plan. Captive-reared Mexican wolves are now being reintroduced in the wild.
Range:
Formerly throughout southwestern U.S. to north-central Mexico.
Habitat:
Mountain forests with adjacent grasslands.
National Zoo
Captive
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Bison
October 27, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Rhino
October 22, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Rhino
October 22, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Nile Hippopotamus
October 28, 2001
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Nile Hippopotamus
(Information from the National Zoo)
Wet Days, Cool Nights: Hippos lead a double life. During the heat of the day, they stay in the water - sleeping and socializing in slow moving rivers and streams. At night they emerge to graze, often traveling miles into the surrounding grasslands.
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Latin Name:
Hippopotamus amphibius
Natural Diet:
Vegetation, primarily grass.
Social Structure:
Varies widely: mixed herds, groups of females and their young, bachelor herds, solitary males.
Status:
Increasingly killed for their teeth (as elephant ivory becomes scarce); losing habitat to people.
Range:
Throughout Africa south of the Sahara.
Habitat:
Lakes, rivers, and the surrounding grasslands.
National Zoo
Captive
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Grevy's Zebras
Dec. 16, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Grevy's Zebras
Dec. 16, 2001
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Pitt. Zoo
Captive
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Zebra
October 18, 2001
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National Zoo
Wild
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A Chipmunk
Sept. 30, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
Captive
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Beaver
October 22, 2001
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Beaver
(Information from the National Zoo)
Community Builders: By damming streams, beavers create ponds that serve as moats to protect their lodges from predators. But beavers are not the only animals that benefit. Raccoons, frogs, fish, dragonflies, muskrats, and fish live in or around the ponds too, relying on the work of the beavers, the "ecological engineers."
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Latin Name:
Castor canadensis
Natural Diet:
Bark, leaves, twigs, and roots of deciduous tress and shrubs, and all parts of aquatic plants.
Social Structure:
Breeding pair and their immature offspring live together building and maintaining dams and lodges; family units are territorial.
Comeback!
Trapped almost to extinction a century ago, beavers are rebounding dramatically.
Cusimanse Co-op: Cusimanse forage together as a group, chirping and twittering to stay in touch as they scour the forest floor for termites, ants, and beetles. At night, they ascend high into the trees to sleep, picking a new site each evening. Like most of the social mongooses, cusimanses are not well studied in the world.
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Latin Name:
Crossarchus obscurus
Natural Diet:
Insects, worms, snails, bird eggs, and small mammals and reptiles.
Social Structure:
Several adults and their young live in groups of four to fifteen.
Relatives:
Cusimanses are a species of mongoose, Africa's most abundant family of carnivores.
Range:
Western Africa: Sierra Leone to Cameroon.
Habitat:
Jungle
National Zoo
Captive
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Komodo Dragon
October 7, 2001
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Komodo Dragon
Reptile (Information from the National Zoo)
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Latin Name:
Varanus komodoensis
Range:
Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar, Rinca and western Flores.
Habitat:
Primarily savannas, savanna forest, and monsoon forest.
Wild Diet:
Insects, other lizards, birds and their eggs, small mammals, deer, boar, and carrion.
Zoo Diet:
Rodents and chickens.
National Zoo
Captive
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Baby Dragon
October 7, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Alligator
June 23, 2001
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133KB
National Zoo
Captive
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Gila Monster
October 7, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Panther Chameleon
October 27, 2001
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Panther Chameleon
Reptile (Information from the National Zoo)
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Latin Name:
Chamaeleo pardalis
Range:
Madagascar; intoduced into the islands of Reunion and Mauritius.
Habitat:
Tropical forests in trees and shrubs.
Natural Diet:
Insects and other invertebrates.
Zoo Diet:
Crickets, mealworms, roaches.
National Zoo
Captive
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Panther Chameleon
October 7, 2001
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National Zoo
Captive
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Octopus
October 28, 2001
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63KB
National Zoo
Captive
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Otter
Dec. 9, 2001
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216KB
National Zoo
Wild
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Squirrel
January 12, 2002
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Squirrel in the Panda exhibit
Squirrel in the Panda exhibit on Panda Day. He is eating one of the panda's special fiber biscuits.
Climbing for Fruit: Spectacled bears are so at home in the trees that they sleep there - constructing nests out of branches. When a tree is full of ripe fruit, they'll stay aloft for days. They even climb prickly cactus to dine on the fruit at the top.
