Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Kirsten Pisto with President and CEO, Alejandro Grajal PhD A tree kangaroo checks out the hikers. Photo by Alejandro Grajal/Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO, Alejandro Grajal, PhD, recently returned from his trip to Papua New Guinea, where he explored the community and conservation impacts of Woodland Park Zoo's Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP). His mission? Experience first-hand the TKCP community and landscape that coexist in remarkable ways, bring back some of their stories, and change the batteries on three radio collars attached to three tree kangaroos that live nearly three stories about the forest floor. Woodland Park Zoo’s own Lisa Dabek, PhD, started the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program over 20 years ago. Her dedication to saving species has created a network of partners and communities that protect over 160,000 acres of tropical cloud forest, villages, plantations and grasslands, as well as 100 acres of coral reef i...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications This whole week—which has been National Zookeeper Week—we’ve been celebrating our amazing animal keepers and showing them some love! Looking out for our animals is more than just a job for WoodlandPark Zoo’s keepers. Lead animal keeper Alyssa strikes a very komodo dragon pose. Most of these dedicated professionals consider their critters to be parts of their extended family—a furry, feathered, scaly and hairy family. We would be happy to accept a rose from either Lucy the raccoon or from Regina, one of our awesome animal keepers. Among Woodland Park Zoo’s animal keeper staff, you will find scientists, researchers, educators, wildlife rehabbers, conservationists and environmental stewards. Christine, Ros, Carolyn, Jenna and Drew make for the most marvelous meerkat mob. They represent the heart and soul of what we do, caring for our animals, providing our guests with amazing experiences and just generally being a...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Silverspot butterfly. Photo by Mike Patterson Woodland Park Zoo is part of a team that released 500 Oregon silverspot butterfly caterpillars last week on the slopes of Saddle Mountain located in Oregon.   A team from Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Oregon Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work together to save butterflies. Photo by Trevor Taylor More than 200 of the released caterpillars were raised this summer at the zoo’s butterfly conservation lab. The reintroduction to the habitat is part of a collaborative, ongoing effort to stabilize the declining population of Oregon silverspot butterflies. Caterpillars were raised in a conservation lab over the winter. Photo by Mike Patterson Other team members joining the caterpillar release were Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Oregon Zoo.   It's a team effort! Photo by Michael Cash/Woodlan...

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Public Relations Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo More than 1,000 Seattle leaders and philanthropists came together at Woodland Park Zoo’s 42nd Annual Jungle Party fundraising event, giving collectively more than $2 million for the zoo’s pioneering work and conservation mission.  This year’s Jungle Party, themed “Wander Into the Wild,” was held on July 13 and presented by title sponsors The Boeing Company and Callisons, Inc. Woodland Park Zoo Board members Jim Burgett, Ben Magnano, Matt Rosauer, Ethan Stowell and Evan Wyman co-chaired the event. “The extraordinary generosity of our Jungle Party patrons this year is humbling, energizing and inspiring,” said Alejandro Grajal, President and CEO of Woodland Park Zoo. “The contributions from our long-term supporters and new friends will directly support local and global wildlife conservation, world-class animal care at our zoo and a considerable increase in access for chil...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo On July 12, more than 45 endangered Western pond turtles were weighed, measured and marked for identification in preparation for being released to the wild at protected sites in Washington. Under the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project , the turtles were collected from the wild as eggs and given a head start on life under the care of Woodland Park Zoo to improve their chance of survival in the wild. Unlike wild turtles, they are fed at the zoo throughout the winter so that by summer they are nearly as big as 3-year-old turtles that grew up in the wild. Once the turtles reach about 2 ounces—a suitable size to escape the mouths of invasive predatory bullfrogs—they are returned to the wild and monitored by biologists. In 1991, only about 150 Western pond turtles remained in two populations in the state of Washington and the species nearly became extinct. In 1993, the state list...