A Day at the Zoo
"The National Zoological Park (SNZP) exhibits living animal and plant collections to provide educational and recreational opportunities for the visiting public and conducts research in conservation biology and reproductive sciences. Our mission is to celebrate, study, and protect the diversity of animals and their habitats. The Zoo is a beautiful urban park offering families fun and excitement, stimulating education programs, and a peaceful place to enjoy nature. The 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., is home to a wonderfully diverse animal collection, ranging from hummingbirds to elephants......" -Smithsonian's National Zoo Mission Statement
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Asian elephants weigh up to 11,000lbs.
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Asian elephants have small ears, one fingered trunk, convex back, two bumps on their forehead, and small tusks.
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Males stand up to 18 feet tall and weigh up to 4,200 pounds; females grow to 16 feet tall and weigh up to 2,500 pounds.
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Currently the National Zoo has five cats living at the Cheetah Conservation Station: two males and three females.
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Amadi and Norok are the two males. Jomu, Chiku, and Wandu are the three females.
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The National Zoo can tell their cheetahs apart very easily by looking at the stripes on their tails. The stripes on their tales are much like fingerprints for humans.
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The National Zoo participates in the Species Survival Plan for cheetahs. At present, Zoo staff are trying to breed Wandu and Norok.
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A powerful hunter with sharp teeth, strong jaws, and an agile body, the tiger is the largest member of the cat family (Felidae).
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It is also the largest land-living mammal whose diet consists entirely of meat.
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Since summer's in DC can get pretty hot, the Zoo has air conditions caves for the Pandas.
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Only about 1,000 giant pandas survive in the mountain forests of central China.
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Another 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos. About 20 live in zoos outside China.
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The National Zoo has pools and rocky substrates for the both seals and sea lions to live in.
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National Zoo has one male California sea lion, Norman, and one female, Maureen.
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Norman was wild-born in May 1977 and orphaned as a pup. NZP acquired him from Marineland in California on October 12, 1978.
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