A scimitar-horned oryx has joined the ranks of endangered animals born this year at the National Zoo’s conservation center in Front Royal, Va., where scientists also recently confirmed the gender of the Zoo’s nearly 3-month-old clouded leopards.
Genetic analysis can give researchers a wealth of information about an individual animal or an entire population. But when the animal is wild, dangerous and rare, it can be difficult to obtain the best sources of DNA, which would usually mean capturing the animal to get a blood or tissue sample.
