Smithsonian National Zoological Park

On Friday, October 7, I spent a lovely late afternoon at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.


The park was designed by a triumvirate which included the preeminent landscape architect of the time, Frederick Law Olmstead, after an act of congress authorized its creation in 1889. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that this zoo feels like a well kept park at times more than a zoo. Animals are not crowded upon one another, and trails and pathways are lavishly surrounded by beautiful flora.

I parked in lot A. It is worth saying that the National Zoo is like all Smithsonian Institution institutions FREE. The parking is $16.00! This put me on the upper end of the park. The park is like Pittsburgh's Zoo built on a substantial hill.


The first animals to might immediate right were kept in a mill at the top of the park subdivided and surround by a circular path. The map promised 4 species, the park delivered two. This trio of frisky Grevy's Zebra, Equus grevyi, who were more than happy to prance around and nip at one another to the entertainment of the visitors. And this pair of Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus.


Rarely in my visits to zoos have I found a zoo that did not keep Cheetah.

My next stop was the Aviary. I got here after passing over the newly renovated (and very impressive) Elephant area where there weren't any elephants...


The Bird House was surrounded by ponds and they were full of Mallards, Anas platyrhynchos, a common wild duck species and zoo "freebee". Inside the building and the majority of bird species were also ducks. a couple owls, a few large tropical birds, Macaw and toucan, and a handful (generous of me) of passerine sing birds. Some of the spaces were large, some not. It wasn't he worst Aviary I've ever seen, but I could see how it could be improved, too.

In the center of the structure is an open space where you can pass through heavy plastic strips and stand among the birds. This is where I encountered this very friendly male Great Argus, Argusianus argus. As I turned to go, a woman pushing a double-wide baby carriage complete with a screaming toddler pushed her way into the space and I thought, "Does arrogance and ignorance find a greater home wherein to reside than this person's head?" Pity the poor birds.


Winding my way back to the main pathway I happened upon a nicely designed exhibit for the housing of a pair of Oriental Small-Clawed Otters, Aonyx cinerea. There was a very impressive water feature in the space that included a stream, however, it was not working and so the otters were running around on mostly dry faux rock. They seemed out of their happy place. Without the water, it reminded me of some bombed out farm house in say, Bosnia....


The small mammal house....shade of gulag that I encountered in Philadelphia raced through my head. Pleasantly, it was nothing like its sister institutions model. Interestingly, until now, it felt like I had seen more brass sculptures of animals than actual animals!--giant anteater as performance art.

Inside, I did encounter a repeat of a theme from the Aviary; the species of animal repeated in different enclosures within the same structure. Why? Not enough animals to fill the space and so lets just show the visitors Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, or Black and Rufous Elephant Shrews, Rhynchocyon petersi, hear and there AND there--we're too stupid to notice?

Be that as it may, I give this place a plus. The animals were kept in ample spaces and live vegetation was present in many enclosures. Here are some of the interesting animals I encountered.


Golden Lion Tamarins, Leontopithecus rosalia. In this place and others within the building.


Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine (Brazilian Porcupine), Coendou prehensilis. Sleeping in the daytime like most nocturnal animals.


Meerkats, Suricata suricatta.

There were many other interesting and well presented small mammals in this space.

Now I finally felt like I was getting my money's worth (parking fee!).


Next stop, the Great Ape House. Like all such structures worth noting, it consisted of a main building with open access to exterior areas so that the animals can be both inside and outside. And as these structures go, this one was fair enough. I have a pre-desposed bias to keeping our evolutionary cousins in places that I would not want to live myself, call me a bleeding heart! The National zoo's collection of great apes is limited to Western Lowland Gorillas, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, and Orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus.


The primate that zoos tend to make me most aware of is Homo sapiens sapiens. Great Apes? Well, good apes...


The National Zoo is home to 6 Orangutans, two of which were born at the zoo. Three others were born in American Zoos in Cleveland, El Paso and Topeka. To the National Zoo's credit, the animals are given great freedom and have an elaborate and unique Orangutan Transport System (the O Line) which allows the orangutans to choose whether they want to cross overhead on the cables and which of the two buildings they want to spend time in. The cables are slung between high towers and connect the Great Ape House with another building call the the Think Tank. I've never seen anything like this anywhere else and it is impressive.


The coolest building in the park is the Reptile House.


Outside there are separate enclosures for the both the Aldabra Tortoise, Aldabrachelys gigantea, and American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis. And much like my response to the Reptile House at Philadelphia, this one is very impressive. And like others, it also includes amphibians...


Isn't this cat gorgeous? Green Crested Basilisk, Basiliscus plumifrons.


The star of the show was the Cuban Crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer, and I was there during feeding time. The croc eats mice. The mice eating sent one young visitor into hysterical crying. I thought it was cool.

There were among many other species a variety of Poison Dart Frogs from Central and South America. A virus from Africa has entered into these animals native habitats and basically wiped out the species in the wild. These beautiful animals have gone from being pretty oddities to the last hope for the survival of their species. I can't ever help seeing them in the flesh and feeling immensely sad.




Exiting to another island display, I noticed the waterfall feature and the crowds gathered and pointing to turtles. It seemed a way too expensive structure for turtles alone, so a proceeded around to he backside of the enclosure and discovered a group of Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Lemur catta.

My discovered soon attracted hoards of other visitors. I suppose the Lemur is used to the noise and attention.


Nearby was the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys ludovicianus, hill. Baltimore has a similar exhibit.


And the little Dogs there are likewise pudgy!


Toward the bottom of the zoo is another impressive "island" where the big cats live. It's divided into three areas. One (a quarter) for Tigers, one (a half) for the lion pride, and one (a quarter) that alternates between the two species as the need arises. Here is the quarter with one of the three Tigers. The zoo is planning on breeding them this coming year.


Sumatran Tiger, Panthera tigris sumatrae.


Adjacent to the Tigers is a wooded path way designed to help children better understand the ideas and issues about Tigers and their survival. It's a pretty cool space.


On the larger portion of the space were 9 of the 10 African Lions, Panthera leo (the adult male being absent from the pride).


Returning back up the hill I encountered the enclosure with the only other ungulate present at the zoo. Przewalski's Horse, Equus przewalski poliakov, is a native of central Asia and a really interesting member of the Equus genus. It vocalizes, as do Zebra, like mules or donkeys, and not like other horses, for one distinction.


Up the hill and back to the Elephant enclosure, where earlier only a staff member could be seen.


Now a lone Asian Elephant, Elephas maximus, is released from inside.


Choosing to focus on the Asian Elephant is an interesting choice for the National Zoo. It's the easiest to tame and least endangered of the world's elephants. Still, I love elephants and watching this one was well worth the wait.


Okay, what visit to the National Zoo would be complete without a visit to the Giant Pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca? However, the Giant Pandas were not receiving visitors on Friday, October 7, 2011. So all that was to be had was the Panda House.


Upon leaving the enclosure, I was given a great opportunity to spend time with the male Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens. His mate and their two kits were one display inside the panda house. I remembered the Red Panda that I had seen at the Philadelphia Zoo who was kept in a disgustingly small cage and thought, "You are one lucky SOB, buddy."


The final animal encounter was the Japanese Giant Salamander, Andrias japonicus, whose watery enclosure was wonderfully rendered into the hillside of the trail just beyond the Red Panda's enclosure. It came complete with a life-size bronze sculpture of the animal.


It is exciting to see that the National Zoo is constantly moving forward by renovations and recreations of animal enclosures. Next year there will be a new seal and seal lion habitat to enjoy. In a limited space, the zoo has chosen to focus it's efforts. There are not many ungulates, you won't find a Rhino, a Giraffe, or a Buffalo. By and large the animals you will find are well kept. For sheer numbers of animals, I am still inclined to recommend Metro Richmond's Zoo.