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The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known in the United States as the National Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1889, it consists of two distinct installations: a 163 acre (0.7 km²) zoo within the Rock Creek Park in Washington D.C., and a 3,200 acre (13 km²) Conservation and Research Center located in Front Royal, Virginia, at the edge of the Shenandoah National Park. The zoo in Washington is open to the public and dedicated in large part to education; the conservation center in Virginia is closed to the public and used primarily to breed and study endangered species. Altogether, the two facilities contain some 2,700 animals of 435 different species.

The National Zoo was founded by famed naturalist and American conservation leader William T. Hornaday. Hornaday, then serving as a taxadermist for the Smithsonian, became increasingly concerned over the decline of many native American species, most notably the American bison. Hornaday envisioned a facility that would breed endangered American animals in captivity and educate the public about wildlife. He opened a small trial zoo outside the Smithsonian castle featuring bison, bears, and other American animals. With the aid of the Secretary of the Smithsonian, Congress approved of the founding of a National Zoological Park in Rock Creek Park; Hornaday, embittered over not being chosen as director, left Washington in disgust. He latter went on to help found and serve as the first director of the Bronx Zoo.

The zoo grew slowly, mostly from contributions of animals from the public and circuses, and lurched to the edge of closure many times in its early history. It did not begin to truly grow until William Mann became the zoo's third director, prior to World War II. Mann organized collecting expeditions around the world to bring a variety of species to the zoo, some common place, "must haves" like giraffes and leopards, others great rarities, like a young gorilla. Today the National Zoo is recognized as one of the premier zoological institutions in the United States, largely on account of the import research it contributes to wildlife conservation. The 116-year-old zoo attracts 2 million visitors a year, according to the Washington Post in 2005.

The National Zoo also maintains numerous field stations around the world, providing expertise and logistical support to local research and conservation efforts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

The National Zoo maintains its own security police, the National Zoological Park Police, which consists of 50 full-time and part-time officers. They have concurrent jurisdiction over the zoo with the U.S. Park Police and the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department.

Special events

Annually, each Easter Monday, the National Zoo serves as the venue for the African American Family Celebration. This celebration has been a tradition for more than 100 years. The celebration began in response to the inability of African Americans to participate in the annual Easter Egg Roll held at the White House, until the Eisenhower presidency.

Giant pandas at the Zoo

The government of the People's Republic of China donated two giant pandas, Ling-Ling (female) and Hsing-Hsing (male), to the zoo two months after President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China. Ling-Ling died in 1992 and Hsing-Hsing in 1999 without producing any cubs that survived for more than a few days.

A new pair of pandas, Mei Xiang (female) and Tian Tian (male), arrived in late 2000. On July 9, 2005, a male panda cub was born at the Zoo; it was the first surviving panda cub birth in the Zoo's history. The cub was named Tai Shan ("Peaceful Mountain") on October 17, 100 days after his birth; the panda went without a name for its first hundred days in observance of a Chinese custom. (If the cub survives into adulthood, he would become the third giant panda to do so in U.S. history. The others were born at the San Diego Zoo in 1999 and 2003.) The cub is often called "Butterstick," since he was described in the media as being the size of a stick of butter at the time of his birth.

Exhibits and Animals of Note

Reptile Discovery Center - Home to the zoo reptile collection, including cobras, crocodiles, and Komodo dragons. The first Komodo dragon born outside of Indonesia was hatched at the National Zoo.

Bird House - Features a nocturnal room for kiwis and a free-flight room for tropical birds. Outside walkways pass yards of larger birds, such as cassowaries, cranes, flamingos, and king vultures.

Cheetah Conservation Station - Besides the cheetahs (the first litter of cheetah cubs in the zoo's history was produced in fall 2004), the cheetah area displays maned wolves, oryx, and Grevy's zebra.

Amazonia - This South American immersion exhibit features a walk through rainforest, home to sloth, small monkeys, birds, and tortoises and a massive freshwater aquarium of large Amazonian fish.

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