News Archive

How do you get an orangutan to sit still for an electrocardiogram? All it takes is a little patience and a lot of ingenuity! The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s positive reinforcement training program enables primates to voluntarily participate in their own medical care without the need for anesthesia.

As Bornean orangutan Redd turns 3 years old, primate keeper Erin Stromberg reflects on his exciting year.

As two orangutan infants tussled in the trees, curator of primates Meredith Bastian and primate keeper Alex Reddy looked on in awe. Over the summer, they traveled to Central Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo to follow these great apes in their native habitat.

Visitors to Washington, D.C., can expect warm weather and humidity this season. But not to worry — we’ve rounded up a few of the best ways to beat the heat at the Zoo this summer.

With two youngsters, Moke and Redd, growing up at the Great Ape House, primate staff are taking the rare opportunity to study the gestures and spatial proximity between gorilla and orangutan mother-infant dyads.

Over the winter, Bornean orangutan Redd learned some new husbandry behaviors! Read the latest #OrangutanStory from primate keeper Erin Stromberg.

Let’s play a game…for science! With a tap of the touch-screen computer, orangutans at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo try their memories at matching pictures. These games help scientists study the apes’ metacognition.

This Valentine’s Day (or any day!) celebrate with your beloved and 2,700 of your closest animal friends at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.