Brandie Smith, PhD has been John and Adrienne Mars Director at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute since November 2021, overseeing the 163-acre Zoo facility in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park and the 3,200-acre Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute campus in Front Royal, Virginia.
Responsible for the operations of the public Zoo, which has approximately 1.8 million visitors a year, she manages the Zoo’s groundbreaking conservation biology research team that works across more than 30 countries.
Smith joined the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s animal care staff in 2008 and helped to revitalize the giant panda program by integrating excellence in animal care with the latest breakthroughs in reproductive biology. Before joining the Zoo, Smith also spent 10 years as vice president of animal conservation at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
During her tenure, she advanced multi-institution amphibian conservation efforts. She stewarded the creation of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a coalition of more than 30 conservation organizations that, from 1999-2009, focused on identifying and supporting solutions to the bushmeat crisis in Africa and around the world.
She also helped launch the Butterfly Conservation Initiative, jointly established by AZA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2001, to engage zoos and aquariums in the recovery of federally listed butterfly species in the U.S.
Saving animals from extinction
Speaking to blooloop, Smith says:
“I always loved animals. So I used to love going to zoos with my family, I loved the whole experience. I loved looking at animals up close and learning about them. I loved the idea that zoos do conservation, but also that zoos were an incredible place for families to be together and to create moments that would last a lifetime.”
She has always wanted to work with animals up close:
“In a zoo, you can get nose to nose with a panda. I love the idea of conserving animals. My research is population genetic, so the work that I’m doing is literally saving animals from extinction. We can breed animals that are extinct in the wild, and put them out back in the wild. And then I’m creating these magical moments for families that will last forever.”
The wild is changing
However, the meaning of ‘wild’ is evolving:
“When I first started in this profession, people thought that we would keep animals in zoos to save them, and breed them until the wild had recovered, at which point we would reintroduce animals. I look at it very differently now.
“I think the wild is becoming more zoo-like, even the open spaces. Animals are managed. You’re translocating animals, you’re fencing off areas, you’re protecting animals, you’re treating them in various ways. Zoos are even more relevant now because what we are learning is how animals need to be managed in the wild.”
It is a type of all-encompassing stewardship.
“I feel it’s a very practical approach,” says Smith. “This is their reality. People aren’t going away, so we have to figure out how animals, humans, and habitats can coexist. It’s going to require management. It’s going to require effort.
“We can’t just hope to block off a space and keep it as a Disney ideal. We are going to have to work with the people who are living there, the animals that are there, the habitat. We’re going to have to invest in it and manage it.”
Dr Brandie Smith & the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Smith has been at the Smithsonian, in various roles, since 2008. She explains:
“When I was young, I was interested in the sciences and, as I said, I was interested in animals. But what kind of person works with animals? What kind of person becomes a zookeeper?”
It seemed, to Smith, the same sort of career aspiration as wanting to be a ballerina or a rock star.
“I thought the responsible thing to do would be to become a doctor. It was my last year in college, and I had an opportunity to do an internship with an ophthalmologist. This was before computers when you just picked up the phone and called people. I called the Pittsburgh zoo and said, ‘I’ve always wanted to work in a zoo. Here’s who I am – what do I do?’
“They connected me with the head of research there. I called him, and he said, ‘I am just picking my intern for the summer right now. You took the initiative to call me, so I’m going to interview you right now. If you nail this interview, I will give you the job.’”
She did nail the interview:
“I went home and told my mother that instead of doing an internship at a doctor’s office, I was going to do an internship at the zoo. I’ll never forget that moment.”
The AZA years
While doing her internship at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Smith did behavioural research and was involved in animal care. She says:
“I didn’t enjoy behavioural research. It was very slow-paced for me, but I loved the hands-on work with the animals, and I also learned more about the genetic work that zoos did to save endangered species, managing the genetics of these small populations so that they were viable for hundreds of years.”
Based on that experience, Smith went to graduate school and got her master’s degree in zoology. Her research focused on the genetic management of small populations.
“From there, I did more internships,” she says:
“I got a job as a rhino keeper at the zoo in Dallas. I had never been to Dallas, I knew no one, and the temporary keeper job paid minimum wage, no benefits. While I was there, I gave a presentation at a conference on my master’s research. Someone at AZA saw my presentation and they said, ‘We have an opening, and we want to interview you.’ My whole life has just been taking advantage of opportunities.”
Returning to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Smith started at AZA as a conservation biologist, but by the time she left, she was vice president of conservation and science at AZA.
“I’d been there for about a decade, and I missed being in a zoo,” she says. “I missed working. I got to work with zoos across the country, but I missed living in a place and getting to know the people and the animals, and being part of the experience. So I came here.”
Her first role back at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo was as curator of mammals:
“As curator of mammals, I oversaw other curators. The curator of elephants reported to me, the curator of small mammals reported to me, but I was also directly responsible for pandas. It was amazing.”
Eventually, she became head of animal care, overseeing all care, including nutrition, the veterinary department, pathology, and so on.
“From there, I became deputy director, and then, a few months ago, I became director.”
Key priorities for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Smith identifies three priorities for zoos in the 21st century:
“Number one is to ensure the animals are happy and healthy, to be very focused on animal welfare, animal wellness, and to make sure we’re meeting all of their psychological, social, physiological, needs. If we’re not doing that well, then we shouldn’t be a zoo.
“Number two is engaging in conservation; actively being a force in biodiversity conservation. It’s saving animals, saving species, saving biodiversity.”
“Number three is taking advantage of the unique opportunity that we have, and that no other conservation organisation does, which is inspiring and educating the millions of people who come through our doors every single year.
“We have an audience of people from every background, diverse in terms of personal views, social background, political background and everything else, that comes through here voluntarily looking to be inspired, and looking to learn. We have to take advantage of people coming here, and ensure we are inspiring and educating them.”
Open to all
Everyone goes to the zoo:
“It’s open and available to everyone. Smithsonian being free, being accessible to anybody who wants to walk in the door, is one of the most incredible things for me.”
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is, of course, as much a conservation organization as it is a zoo:
“We have an entire campus of scientists, geneticists, reproductive physiologists, pathologists, and field ecologists, who are working on animals here at the zoo, doing reproductive research, working with animals in the wild, looking at the information on translocating animals, looking at sustainability issues.
“We have a migratory bird centre that is literally selling branded bird-friendly coffee, which is a way for people to ensure that their products are coming from a sustainable habitat, and that is good for birds as opposed to harming wildlife.”
Field work
The research is exciting, she says, because it means learning more about the animals themselves:
“You can’t save animals unless you know what you’re trying to save. By understanding more about the biology, about the psychology of animals, we know where it’s most important to focus our efforts.”
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute also has field biologists:
“We have people working in China to save pandas and their habitat. We have people working with Asian elephants, we have people working in Kenya to look at wildlife diseases.
“In addition, we also are focused locally, so we have something called Virginia Working Landscapes, where we are working with farmers in Virginia to talk about how we can sustainably manage local ecosystems. We are also working in Montana, where there are efforts to restore the American Prairie grasslands.
Conservation projects
Black-footed ferrets, indigenous to the grassland of central North America are, Smith contends, effectively signature animals.
“We have done a lot of work in terms of breeding and bringing them back from the brink of extinction,” she explains. “A lot of the work on the Prairie focuses not just on the ferrets, but also on plants, insects, some of the larger mammals.”
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute also does a great deal of work with amphibians, she explains:
“We live near the Appalachians, which are a hot spot of biodiversity for salamanders. There’s a disease that has been threatening amphibians for years now; it’s a chytrid fungus that races through and decimates the population. We are looking at ways both to address the fungus, and ways to breed in resistance.”
Making an emotional connection
While people tend to connect emotionally with the larger mammals, this is not necessarily, Smith contends, bad news for the often smaller, less traditionally charismatic endangered species:
“It’s fine if people want to save the big species. I think that if you can engage and excite someone on any level, then that’s a good thing. We talk about keystone species. If you save a giant panda and its habitat, you’re not just saving the giant panda, you’re saving all the species that live in that type of habitat.”
“It’s OK if people like lions and tigers. If we can get people excited about one species, that’s the gateway. If we can focus on that, then we have the opportunity to save a lot of other species as part of that conservation work.”
A positive outlook
The threats facing the natural world are formidable. In terms of whether they can be overcome, she says:
“We don’t have a choice. We have to try. As people’s understanding of the world around them evolves, as our technology, our ability to engage, evolve, our ability to save these species evolves, as well. In terms of saving biodiversity, the tools in the toolbox are always increasing.
“I do believe that there is a chance for things to get better. I am also very hopeful about the generations coming up.”
From a business perspective:
“People now want transformative experiences. People want to feel like they’re doing good and becoming better as part of an experience, whether they’re going to the zoo, to the movies, to the mall, and they want to be part of that transformation.
“There are a lot of things in the world right now that make people feel bad. Giving people a way to save animals and habitats is a way to make them feel good. We are trying to do what we know that people want to do.”
Looking ahead at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
In terms of her plans for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, she says:
“I think there are a lot of opportunities here. A time of transition is a good time to make any changes. I really want to look at the guest experience in the park and say, ‘How do we make it not only the best experience possible for the visitors, but also create that transformative opportunity?’
“How do we make sure that we are working with the millions of people who come here every year to make them part of our conservation force? Our mission right now says ‘We Save Species’, but I want to expand it to ‘We all Save Species, Together.’
“One of the things I’m very excited about is really looking at the people who come, not just in the park, but also our millions more virtual visitors, and saying, ‘How do we create an excited, engaged joyful conservation force?’ That’s one thing.”
Effective conservation
Another focus for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo will be the evaluation of research resources:
“In terms of our conservation and science, we have incredible scientists doing incredible work, but there’s also an opportunity to look at what we’re doing and say, is this, given our unique abilities and our unique skill, the best way to focus our efforts?
“It’s about working with our scientists, evaluating and re-evaluating what’s being done. It’s been a while since we’ve done it, so I really want to work with our scientists to look at the conservation work that we’re doing, to make sure we’re doing it in the most efficient and effective way, given our unique situation as a zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and also given the skill sets of the scientists that we have on hand.”
