Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor and Gigi Allianic, Communications We are 12. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. The Mini Legion of Boom—Asian small-clawed otters Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor and Maxwell, huddled to raise the 12 Flag in their exhibit today. Video: Otters raise the 12 Flag for Seahawks Super Bowl Rally. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Sherman took the lead and set the flag waving for Seattle Seahawks fans as we rally for Super Bowl XLIX. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Then the otters got down to business for a little scrimmage, showing off their vertical and secondary defense. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Bring on the boom! Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. The Mini Legion of Boom, four otter brothers born at the zoo in 2013, were named after the Legion of Boom as a tribute to the Seahawks explosive secondary. The otter brothers live with their parents and four younger siblings. Ph...

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo With the help of zoo fans, proud papa Xerxes chose Gandia and Mandla as names to complement Tandie, the first name chosen by community members in an online poll. Here comes trouble! Tandie, Gandia and Mandla get a snarl of approval from dad Xerxes. Tandie : meaning fire Gandia : meaning clever Mandla : meaning power/strength Naming lion triplets is not an easy task, so we asked you to help parents Adia and Xerxes with the decision. First, 10 names were selected by the zoo’s lion keepers and derived from languages that reflect parts of the South African lion’s native range. Then, during the zoo’s two-week online naming poll, voters chose their top preferences. On Tuesday we revealed the name with the most votes, Tandie (meaning “fire”). Mom Adia and dad Xerxes weighed in today to choose from runners up Gandia, Mandla and Pule.  Xerxes scopes out the goods... Keepers used th...

We are just slightly excited about Sunday. Watch the lion triplets go into true Beast Mode with their Seahawks footballs. The cubs got us all pumped for the Seahawks Super Bowl Repeat! The boys, along with mom Adia and dad Xerxes, were given the footballs as enrichment while the young cats explored their exhibit. Go Hawks!

Posted by Caileigh Robertson, Communications Aruba Island rattlesnake. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Behind the scenes of Woodland Park Zoo’s Day Exhibit—home to timid tree ‘roos, slow-moving tortoises and venomous snakes—is a refrigerator full of antivenom, life-saving treatments for less fortunate encounters with poisonous reptiles and amphibians. While snake bites are (thankfully!) a rarity among Woodland Park Zoo keepers, doctors at the Washington Poison Center have witnessed their fair share of poisonous bites. Dr. Jenny Pramuk tours Washington Poison Center and Harborview staff around the zoo's snake collection. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Recently, Woodland Park Zoo’s curator, Jenny Pramuk, welcomed Washington Poison Center and Harborview staff on a tour through the Day Exhibit, to see up-close the zoo’s most venomous animals and behind-the-scenes antivenom supply. The zoo partners with Harborview Medical Center on performing venomous snake b...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, communications Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo The Seahawks 12s are getting wild! Animals across the zoo showed up to the pregame today. Penguins, lion cubs, lemurs, grizzly bears, wolves and even a few tropical frogs joined the roster. We’re cheering on the Hawks as they advance to the NFC Championship. Special Seahawks enrichment treats from their keepers coaches motivated these athletes to execute those football moves! As the Hawks keep winning, you keep saving—starting Jan. 16, take $3 off zoo admission every day when you sport your Seahawks gear as long as the Seahawks play. Let’s take a look at the best plays of the day… We started off with a three-cub drill to evaluate the agility, quickness and movement of the youngest lionbacks. They showed great promise with their ball handling skills and lightning-fast pass rushes. Let’s just say Earl Thomas would be mighty proud of these cublets. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Par...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Today Reps. Pettigrew (D), Buys (R) and Fitzgibbon (D) introduced bipartisan House Bill 1131 to put an end to illegal elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn trade in Washington state. In addition to federal law, state laws are needed to close loopholes that allow the black market to go unchecked. Which one is more precious? You got us this far! More than 7,000 Woodland Park Zoo and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium supporters joined together to raise our voices on this issue. Legislators are now listening. Let’s be heard! TAKE ACTION It’s time to use your voice once again! Leave a public comment on the Washington State Legislature website in SUPPORT of HB 1131.  You can use the following talking points in your comment: As your constituent, I am writing in support of Woodland Park Zoo’s and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s 96 Elephants campaign and ask you to support WA State HB 1131 to end the sale of illegal elephant ivory and ...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor We call them cute, we call them precious, and now we want to call the lion cubs by the names you help pick! Vote now and you’ll also have the chance to enter to win a random drawing for a ZooParent lion cub adoption. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The one name with the most votes will automatically be selected, and then it gets interesting! We’ll take the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most popular names and leave it to mom Adia and dad Xerxes to finish the job. On Thurs., Jan. 29, we’ll present the parents with enrichment choices, each associated with a name, and the two they touch first will be the names they select. We’ll announce all the final name selections and share photos here! Cast your #namethelions vote for your top three preferred names. The name choices are derived from languages that reflect parts of the South African lion’s native range. For inspiration, here’s the scoop on our triplets: Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Did you get outside to enjoy the fresh air today? You weren't the only one! The three lion cubs took their first steps outdoors for a practice session to get them ready for their upcoming (soon to be announced!) public debut. And they were in some mighty big company. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. At 11 weeks old, the cubs are ready to stretch their legs, and today’s weather was perfect for a quick dip outside. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Up until now, the cubs have been spending their days behind the scenes with mom Adia in a den area where they've had a quiet space to nurse, bond and grow. In recent weeks, the cubs and Adia were joined by dad Xerxes for at least 30 minutes a day. This is especially exciting as the father of Adia's first litter, Hubert, was not around her cubs. (He spent his time with another female, Kalissa. The two have since relocated together...