Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The
Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known in the
United States as the
National Zoo, is a
zoo located in
Washington, DC. Founded in
1889, it consists of two distinct installations: a 163 acre zoo within the
Rock Creek Park in Washington DC, and a 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center located in
Front Royal,
Virginia, at the edge of the
Shenandoah National Park. The zoo in Washington DC is open to the public and dedicated in large part to education; the conservation center in Virginia is closed to the public and used primarily to breed and study endangered species. Altogether the two facilities contain some 2,700 animals of 435 different species.
The National Zoo also maintains numerous field stations around the world, providing expertise and logistical support to local research and conservation efforts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.
In 1972 the government of the People's Republic of China donated two giant pandas to the zoo after President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China. Both of these pandas have since died but were replaced with two new pandas.
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