Does not India already have a fund with similar objectives?

Hyderabad International Airport facilitated the first arrival evacuation flight from Kuwait on Saturday.This is the first flight to Hyderabad and is p

It was an exciting and busy 24 hours at the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va., last week as three births took place just hours apart. On the evening of July 9, a clouded leopard cub was born, followed by a Przewalski’s horse foal and a red panda cub.

The post Baby Boom of Endangered Species at Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has opened a new Public Observatory that contains a 16-inch, 3,000-pound Boller and Chivens telescope, on loan from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Through this powerful telescope, museum visitors can now observe the sun (with a special filter), the moon and the brighter stars and planets, such as Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, during daylight hours. Funding for the project was provided by the National Science Foundation.

The post The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum opens new Public Observatory on the Mall in Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Zoo has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a captive population of the Virginia big-eared bat at the National Zoo’s Conservation & Research Center near Front Royal, Va. Only 15,000 Virginia big-eared bats remain living in caves in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina, and these are threatened by the white-nose syndrome.

The post In face of crisis, National Zoo to start captive population of Virginia big-eared bats appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Dennis W. Kelly has been named director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., effective Feb. 15, 2010.

The post Dennis Kelly Named Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time in its history, the National Zoo has bred strawberry dart frogs (Oophaga pumilio), which are known primarily for their vibrant colors and poisonous skin. These frogs also stand out among others because of their dedication to their young as they undergo metamorphosis from egg to tadpole to frog.

The post Strawberry dart frogs bred at National Zoo for first time in Zoo’s history appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Staff had been on a pregnancy watch focused on the 3 1/2-year-old clouded leopard Jao Chu (JOW-chew) for four days. Jao Chu gave birth to the first cub at 6:04 p.m. and the second cub at 6:20 p.m.

The post Clouded leopard cubs born at National Zoo’s Front Royal campus on Valentine’s Day appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Stephen L. Wood collection brings the collection of bark beetles held in the Natural History Museum’s Department of Entomology to an impressive 180,000 specimens, making it one of the most extensive collections in world.

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The research and patience has paid off. The sisters, Nababiep and Shera, have spent short periods of time with the male, Luke, individually and simultaneously. This happened only after they each had spent more than a year sniffing Luke through a mesh door (called a “howdy door”).

The post Patience and research may bring lion cubs to the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Based on current hormone analyses, and not having seen a fetus during the ultrasound exams, Zoo researchers have determined that Mei Xiang experienced a pseudopregnancy.

The post National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang is not pregnant appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo recently acquired Japanese giant salamanders given to the Zoo by the City of Hiroshima Asa Zoological Park. This donation will be the foundation of a new long-term breeding program in the United States and may play an important role in saving amphibians around the globe.

The post Japanese giant salamanders given to the National Zoo by Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Kiwis come to National Zoo. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo will be using a new kiwi pair donated by the New Zealand Embassy to establish a breeding science center. […]

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The anemones—both of which are commonly called Tealia red anemones under the species of Urticina—spawned in late April and early May, just days apart. Henley collected the eggs and sperm from the more than 2,000-gallon tank and put them together in smaller tanks to increase the chances of fertilization. After fertilization, the larvae settled and metamorphosed into a polyp.

The post National Zoo scientists successfully grow two species of anemones in aquarium tanks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo celebrated the completion of Phase I of Elephant Trails, an innovative and expanded home for Asian elephants, on Sept. 2. Phase […]

The post Elephant Trails exhibition opens at National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Aug, 31, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed this year’s second litter of African lion (Panthera leo) cubs. Five-year-old Shera (shown at right) gave birth […]

The post Shera, a 5-year-old lioness at the National Zoological Park appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo recently welcomed two litters of lion cubs over a three-week period – bringing the total number of cubs to seven during the summer of 2010.

The post Seven lion cubs born recently at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Although the La Loma tree frog, Hyloscirtus colymba, is notoriously difficult to care for in captivity, the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is the first to successfully breed this species.

The post National Zoo and partners first to breed critically endangered tree frog appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Scarlet Knight, as the glider is called, made nautical history as the first submersible glider to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The post Rutgers glider added to the collections of the National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This 'hot Jupiter', now named Qatar-1b, adds to the growing list of alien planets orbiting distant stars, or exoplanets. Its discovery demonstrates the power of science to cross political boundaries and increase ties between nations.

The post International team discovers alien planet that’s Jupiter-sized appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

At the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., the seven-month-old white-naped cranes Cal and Bill are thriving.

The post White-naped crane chicks thriving at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A. sediba was discovered in 2008 in the Malapa Cave at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site located outside Johannesburg.

The post Skeletal casts of early hominin ancestor from Africa donated to National Museum of Natural History appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For more than three decades JoGayle Howard dedicated her life and work to reproducing endangered species.

The post JoGayle Howard, National Zoological Park pioneer in reproductive biology, dies appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On the heels of spring’s arrival, a wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) chick hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo March 20, the third of its kind […]

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Discovery, the longest-serving orbiter in the space shuttle fleet, will be accepted into the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum collection. The space shuttle has been the icon for American spaceflight for a generation, and Discovery has flown every type of mission during its 27-year career.

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The predictability and scale of seasonal changes in a habitat help determine the distance migratory species move and whether the animals always travel together to the same place or independently to different locations.

The post Changes in vegetation determine how animals migrate, scientists find in new National Zoo study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A study published in the journal Global Change Biology finds that while fertilizer has been the dominant source of nitrogen pollution in Caribbean coastal ecosystems for the past 50 years, such pollution is on the decline, thanks in part to the introduction of more advanced, environmentally responsible agricultural practices during the last decade.

The post National Museum of Natural History’s coral collection used in Caribbean agricultural and sewage pollution study appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo detected a secondary rise in urinary progesterone levels in the Zoo’s female giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG). This hormone rise indicates that it should be 40 to 50 days before Mei Xiang either gives birth to a cub or comes to the end of a pseudopregnancy, or false pregnancy, which is common in giant pandas.

The post Hormone tests show Mei Xiang, the National Zoo’s female giant panda, may be pregnant appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Zoo’s great cat program recently expanded with the arrival of two-and-a-half-year-old female Sumatran tiger, Damai, who is now out of quarantine and spending time outside in her exhibit where visitors can see her.

The post Damai, a two-and-a-half-year-old female Sumatran tiger, makes her debut at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Kandula, an 8-year-old male Asian elephant at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, recently demonstrated to researchers for the first time that elephants are capable of insightful problem solving.

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The fossil represents the youngest nodosaur ever discovered, and the only known specimen of a new genus and species of dinosaur that lived approximately 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Era.

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Thunder, lightning and strong winds greeted the National Zoo’s two female red panda cubs when they were born June 17, and that stormy night has […]

The post National Zoo’s red pandas named “Pili” and “Damini” for stormy night appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Suzan Murray, chief veterinary medical officer at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, recently returned from Hanoi, where she led a team of scientists training pathologists from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to better sample, recognize and detect wildlife diseases in hopes of preventing emerging pandemic disease.

The post Q&A: National Zoo veterinarian Suzan Murray is working to halt pandemic disease in hotspots around the world appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A member of one of the world’s most endangered species—the brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)—successfully hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Bird House Dec. 11 at 10:25 a.m. The egg was laid Oct. 1 and keepers began looking for signs of the chick hatching starting in early December. The chick is the sixth kiwi successfully hatched at the National Zoo.

The post Kiwi chick hatching a success at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A baby boom is underway at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Two Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni) chicks hatched March 3 and 4; they join six others in the Zoo’s collection—three of which live at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.

The post Extremely rare Guam rails hatch at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The same device used to detect early warning signs of heart disease in humans will now benefit two male sub-adult gorillas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

The post Heart disease study to benefit lowland gorillas at the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The young primate seems bright, alert, and increases its activity and independence day by day.

The post Howler monkey born at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The National Museum of Natural History will construct a new dinosaur exhibition hall made possible by a $35 million donation from David H. Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries and philanthropist.

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Two Cuban crocodiles were born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo on July 6 and 14 and they are among the most genetically valuable in the […]

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Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), the National Zoo’s female giant panda, gave birth to a cub Sunday, Sept. 16, at 10:46 p.m.

The post Panda cub born at National Zoo to Mei Xiang appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo community mourns the loss of the giant panda cub born Sunday, Sept. 16.

The post New panda cub dies at National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The newest additions at the Reptile Discovery Center at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are eight tentacled snakes, born Oct. 21 to parents that have not produced viable […]

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Two Andean bear cubs born at the National Zoo in the early morning of Dec. 13 to 6-year-old Billie Jean.

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With the tap of a finger, keepers are introducing the Zoo’s six orangutans to iPads, which provide unique stimuli.

The post National Zoo orangutans turn high-tech with apps for apes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

All bear species except for one live in either temperate or tropical woodlands. Only the polar bear is a stranger to the forest, living and […]

The post Polar bears in a warming world: Q&A with Don Moore of the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics have confirmed that the giant panda cub born at the National Zoo […]

The post National Zoo’s giant panda cub is a girl! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Santa Claus and his sleigh full of gifts has been upstaged early this holiday season by news of autonomous drones possibly delivering packages to your […]

The post Package-delivering drones? Q&A with Roger Connor of the National Air and Space Museum appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute rung in 2014 with the hatching of the most endangered species in its collection—a Micronesian kingfisher—Jan. 1. The chick, whose […]

The post Micronesian kingfisher chick hatches at the National Zoo’s Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.