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No matter the distance or the weather, Jane Christensen was determined to see the giant pandas before they left Washington. Now in her 60s, Christensen told AFP she had been captured by the species' magical cuteness over a half-century ago, when China first gifted two pandas to the United States. "I've had 'panda-monium' ever since," she said under a chilly rain outside the Smithsonian National Zoo's panda exhibit, hundreds of miles from her home in Michigan. All three of the zoo's pandas are leaving for China by the end of the year, bringing at least a temporary end to a...

The incident is the first time a predator has broken into the exhibit in its 50 year historyA wild fox snuck into the outdoor flamingo habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Sunday night and killed 25 of its American flamingos—about a third of the 74-bird flock, per a zoo statement. A Northern pintail duck was also found dead, and three additional flamingos were injured. “This is a heartbreaking loss for us and everyone who cares about our animals,” Brandie Smith, director of the zoo, says in the statement. “The barrier we used passed inspection and...

At last, we’ve reached the conclusion of this scintillating drama: the National Zoo’s naked mole-rat colony has chosen its queen. In case you’ve been living under a rock, let us catch you up: the Small Mammal House at the Smithsonian National Zoo is home to a colony of naked mole-rats, and for the last several months they’ve been engaged in a quiet—but brutal—battle for political supremacy. Naked mole-rats are one of just two eusocial mammalian species, which means they live much like colonies of bees or ants: one queen reigns supreme over everybody else, and challengers must fight and kill...

About a month ago, I received a tip from Larwyn on Obama’s Latest Big Brother Plan. To say it is chilling, is the understatement of the century. After I read about it, I immediately felt ill… I had not blogged on it because the last month has been hectic, but this indeed is something that will fundamentally ‘change’ all of our lives and not for the better. The White House plans to expand the Office of Personnel Management. Most Americans don’t even know what this Office is, much less how dangerous it now is. First excerpt: The Office of Personnel...

The National Zoo in Washington says its adult female panda has had twins. The first cub was born Saturday at 5:35 p.m. and the zoo said on Twitter that a second was born at 10:07 p.m. The zoo has said both cubs appear healthy. If the cubs survive, they would be the 17-year-old panda's third and fourth surviving offspring.

A teenager was stabbed and seriously wounded in a fight Monday at the National Zoo as the zoo marked African American Family Day. A 16-year-old was arrested and charged in the incident, D.C. police said. D.C. police Cmdr. Michael E. Reese said the stabbing was connected to “some kind of ruckus” that apparently broke out within the zoo and might have resumed at or near the entrance on Connecticut Avenue NW. .....The teenager was stabbed at least twice, at least once in the zoo and once at or just outside the entrance, Reese said. Some of the same assailants might...

<p>D.C. Police say a teenage boy was stabbed inside the National Zoo in Northwest.</p> <p>Sources tell FOX 5's Wisdom Martin that a 14-year-old male was stabbed in the chest in the zoo after being jumped by another group of young people.</p>

The National Zoo's giant panda cub still doesn't have a name, but at least caretakers now know its sex. Not that the zoo had a preference. "We're excited to have a healthy panda cub," assistant curator Lisa Stevens said Tuesday. "It doesn't matter what its sex is - just it's good to know so we know whether to call it a 'he' or a 'she.'" Make that "he." Stevens said the panda's mother, 6-year-old Mei Xiang, doesn't care about the sex of her three-and-a-half-week-old cub either, only the tenth giant panda in the country. Giant panda mothers dote on their...

We got a new panda at the Washington Zoo. Just born. "The cub weighs just ounces and was born at 3:41 a.m."

Yesterday's WPost offered a great front-page shot of Washington DC's National Zoo's latest addition -- cubs. So, we headed over and took a few of our own photos. Check out http://community.webshots.com/album/267779016eIxpoI The pandas were absolutely wonderful!