Courtesy National Zoo The Smithsonian’s National Zoo on Friday announced the recent deaths of two scimitar-horned oryx. One female died at the main Zoo campus on Oct. 24, while a male passed away on Oct. 14 at the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal. The female died after having had to be anesthetized twice in two days, first for a regular check-up and then again after she became agitated during recovery and appeared…

Good news for those of you who feel just the opposite of joy when seeing an amazing exotic animal behind a fence at the zoo. The National Zoo sent out the news this week that they are releasing a male scimitar-horned oryx into the wild as part of an international conservation effort. If you’re as confused about what an oryx is as we were, the Zoo tells us:Oryx are a type of desert antelope that…