Since 2008, the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation has brought roughly 15 students each semester onto its grounds to take courses, work in labs and do fieldwork, but space has been cramped. This year we’re especially excited about the expansion of an undergraduate program in conservation, run in partnership with George Mason University. To give just one example, scientists study the effects of white-tailed deer overpopulation on local wildflowers and small mammals. And while there’s no shortage of striking fauna at the institute, the facility is also rooted in regional issues. The grounds and some of the institute’s red-clay-roofed buildings have a rich history, having once served as the site of an Army remount depot, where cavalry horses were bred and trained. (Anne, I can report, is now a healthy 585 pounds, and I do mean the horse.) On a personal note, a Przewalski’s horse born during my tenure, an endangered ancient line of horses, was graciously named after my wife, Anne. Now they’re thriving at the National Zoo. Last May, Front Royal saw the rare birth of two cheetahs in captivity the cubs were brought into the world by Caesarean section. Yet close observation and top-notch care supplement the high-tech approaches: By monitoring hormonal levels in female cheetahs, our scientists can tell when the big cats are stressed-because they don’t get along with a neighboring female, say-which reduces their ability to reproduce. Here, our researchers have been at the forefront of adapting techniques developed for humans or domestic animals-including egg- and sperm-freezing-to endangered breeds. Many of the animals roam (or sprint!) across the hillsides, in ample enclosures of several acres. Away from the demands of public exhibitions, our scientists study red pandas, clouded leopards, maned wolves, red-crowned cranes and other threatened animals-25 species and some 275 animals in all. This is the sort of behind-the-scenes operation that all zoos wish they could have, an ark of life. A 90-minute drive from the National Mall and the bustle of the capital, on 3,250 verdant, rolling acres next door to Shenandoah National Park, sits a hidden gem in our network of museums and centers: the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, in Front Royal, Virginia, a unit of the National Zoo.
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