Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The results of our Name the Cubs contest are in! More than 2,000 of you entered the contest for a chance to name one male and one female lion cub—and the winning names are: Male cub – Rudo (“love” in Zulu, pronounced ROO-doh ) Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Female cub – Busela (“happy and independent” in Zulu, pronounced BOO-sayla ) Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Two lucky winners— Tate and Ross MacDonald of Seattle and Pamela Garland of Olympia —are taking home the grand prizes for submitting these winning names, as selected by our panel of zoo judges. That grand prize includes a private viewing at the lion exhibit with a keeper! Rudo and Busela join their brother and sister, who also received names recently, this time with the help of zookeepers and donors who have helped bring big cats to Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. The other male is now known as Pelo (“heart” in Sot...

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Still image captured from internal monitoring cam on Monday, March 25, three days after birth.  The zoo welcomed three cubs to the count on Friday, marking the first jaguar birth at the zoo in nearly two decades! In the last few months, the zoo seems to be bursting with babies. Can we get a cub count? In November, we celebrated the birth of four rambunctious lions in over 20 years at the zoo. In December, mama sloth bear, Tasha, surprised us with not one but two newborns . And Friday evening, the rare birth of jaguar triplets sent the cub count soaring. In just six months, the zoo has welcomed nine cubs from three animal species! The three new cubs are celebrated as the latest members of the zoo’s newest generation. Zookeepers are using an internal monitoring cam to keep an eye on mom and jaguar cubs inside their behind-the-scenes maternity den. Catch a glimpse of what we can see on the cam in the video below. Video ...

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Thanks to the speedy efforts and smart diagnostics of hospitals in Canada and the U.S. and a poison control center, the life of a man bitten by a venomous viper was saved by antivenin supplied by Woodland Park Zoo. The life of Michael Lovatt of Roberts Creek, B.C. was saved thanks to the rescue of hospitals and Woodland Park Zoo. Photo courtesy of Vancouver Coastal Health. The 61-year-old Roberts Creek, B.C. man was bitten while vacationing in Costa Rica but didn’t know at the time it was a viper. On Monday when he returned to Vancouver, he immediately sought medical attention at Vancouver General Hospital where he was diagnosed with kidney failure, and suffering from bleeding and swelling from his foot to the mid-thigh.  Dr. Roy Purssell with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) was brought in. Working around the clock, the medical team figured out the type of snake based on the patient’s symptoms, a Fer-de-lance Bothrops a...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Mom Adia doesn't get to rest much with four cubs, but she's as sharp as ever when it comes to watching out for them. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week the lion cubs got their first access to the full lion exhibit that includes the watery moat. That moat was a concern for us when the cubs were still small and developing their coordination skills, which is why they were only recently given access to the area. Now that the cubs have the run of the exhibit, keepers have been watching Adia closely to make sure that she’s not too overwhelmed by trying to look after four rambunctious cubs across a large space and near that moat. The moat is in the forefront as the cubs play with mom on the heated rock. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. But momma proved to us this weekend that we never needed to doubt her ability to be in charge. When she was playing with a ball the other day, it got away from her and r...

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications The cubs took to the heated rock in the exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Together, our four little felines have explored most every inch of their current exhibit space. They've rolled across each thick patch of grass, scaled all logs without hesitation, licked every crevice of the viewing glass, and now we think it’s time they move on to bigger, bolder adventures. Adventures that encompass their entire exhibit! Now that the cubs are big enough and coordinated enough, they are safe to be near the moat in the exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Our animal management staff continues to keep watchful eyes on the spunky foursome. But at nearly five months old and nearly 50 pounds apiece, the cubs can run, jump, roll and roar safely in the spacious lion exhibit of our award-winning African Savanna. That means the fence has come down and they now have access beyond the smaller, moat-free yard where the...

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Hey northwest green-thumbs, spring is just around the corner, which means it’s time for Woodland Park Zoo’s Spring Fecal Fest ! This beneficial pile of Zoo Doo will work wonders for a garden! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been collecting our highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread all winter and now is your chance to enter a bid to purchase the gardener’s delight! Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest. Composed of species' feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores such as elephants, hippos, giraffes and more, Zoo Doo is perfect for growing veggies and annuals. Bedspread, the zoo’s premium composted mulch, is a combination of Zoo Doo, sawdust and large amounts of wood chips. Bedspread is used to cushion perennial beds and woody landscapes including rose beds, shrubs and pathways. ...

Posted by: Julie Webster, Zoo volunteer and Backyard Habitat class participant Editor’s note: Woodland Park Zoo is once again offering its popular Backyard Habitat classes to help you bring more wildlife to your yard. Former class participant and zoo volunteer, Julie Webster, shares how the lessons she learned have transformed her urban garden. When I first signed up for Woodland Park Zoo’s Backyard Habitat workshop, I was already mindful of the four basic needs I had to meet to support local wildlife in my yard: food, water, shelter and a place to raise young. But it was in the workshop that I really came to understand the importance of cover and plant layering—the essentials to diversifying a habitat—and how these principles could be applied even in a small, urban garden. Maple in my yard before I learned about layering through the Backyard Habitat classes. Photo courtesy of Julie Webster. Layering isn't specifically listed in the four basic needs, but go to the fores...

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Although toucans and hornbills look very similar, they are from two completely different families of birds. This is a great example of what is called convergent evolution. Toucans and hornbills are beautiful, fascinating creatures and throughout time, they have both adapted similarly to survive in similar ecological niches, despite the great geographical divide between them. Toucans reside in Central and South America, while hornbills are found only in Africa and Asia. Toucan (left) and hornbill (right) look similar though they are unrelated. Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. They both play the role of forest omnivore, feeding on fruits, insects and small creatures, including bird eggs, lizards and young mice. Their similar bills come in handy when foraging for food. Both groups of birds nest in cavities. These large bills also play a part in protecting eggs and nestlings from potential predators. So how do you tell the...