Mammals
- Artibeus watsoni (Thomas' Fruit-eating Bat), Costa Rica. N. Woodman. © Smithsonian Institution.
The Division of Mammals houses a world-class collection of roughly 590,000 preserved specimens. This collection supports a wide range of scientific research by resident staff and associates, as well as numerous visiting scientists. Divisional collection management staff preserve, conserve, and document our specimens to ensure their accessiblity to present and future research activities.
Our mammal specimens have also played an integral role in such NMNH exhibitions as The Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals and the African Elephant in our museum's rotunda. We also support public education by maintaining several databases relevant to mammals.
Featured Online Lecture
Black-footed Ferrets: The Road to Recovery - an illustrated lecture presented by Dr. Paul E. Marinari at the National Museum of Natural History on March 11, 2011.
2011 marks the 30th anniversary of bringing the remaining 18 black-footed ferrets into captivity from the wild. Today's population consists of approximately 280 animals in captivity and 1,000 in the wild. Nineteen colonies have been established in eight states, Mexico and Canada. Our speaker provided insights gathered from firsthand experience on this remarkable recovery and the future of these animals in the wild.
This lecture was presented in memory of Dr. JoGayle Howard who passed away on March 5, 2011. Dr. Howard's studies on reproductive physiology at the National Zoo helped bring such critically endangered species as the black-footed ferret, cloud leopard, giant panda and Florida panther back from the brink of extinction. Dr. Suzan Murray gave a memorial presentation of Dr. Howard's work as an introduction to the lecture.