3.9K views · 179 reactions | Pandas have a naturally slow birth rate. Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is one of only three zoos in the US that works with China to boost the panda population! #NationalPandaDay #GP50 #Pandaversary #PandaStory | Smithsonian Channel | Facebook

We’ve got a new baby on board! In December 2025, an endangered pygmy slow loris infant was born in our newest exhibit, World of Darkness. This is the first primate to be born at the zoo’s immersive exhibit since it opened in July 2025. It is one of just 50 pygmy slow lorises across AZA-accredited zoos in North America. Pygmy slow lorises are nocturnal primates that live in the forests of Southeast Asia. They are considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with habitat loss

The Ozark hellbender is an endangered species that’s also one of North America’s largest aquatic salamanders. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is working to reverse the species’ declining numbers, and earlier this week we released 113 hellbenders into the Eleven Point River, the only place the animal persists in The Natural State, from a captive breeding program at the St. Louis Zoo. | Arkansas Game and Fish Commission