Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications That's a face we will never forget. Rest easy, Junior, thank you for letting us love you and inspiring millions to save jaguar habitat. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Jaguar Cove won't be the same without the presence of our favorite male jaguar, Junior. The geriatric cat had been off view, living behind the scenes where keepers could keep a close watch on him (spoil him) since late in 2017. Junior was humanely euthanized on May 31 due to a major decline in health and quality of life. Junior was 20 years old.  The life expectancy of jaguars in zoos is 18 years. The big cats live longer in zoos than in their natural range because of the evolving field of zoo medicine, including improved husbandry and management techniques, excellent animal care, better nutrition, increased medical knowledge, and diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.  Sweet cat naps on his favorite hot rock made Junior a happy boy. Photo by R...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by John Loughlin/ Woodland Park Zoo A lick of approval? Hasani here with just kinesiology tape on his rear feet. A couple of weeks ago, our baby giraffe, Hasani got a new pair of custom shoes to treat congenital rear leg abnormalities. Because of significant improvements, the giraffe is now shoe-free. Hasani blends in with mom Olivia and aunt Tufani. Hasani was born on May 2 to mom Olivia. Immediately after his birth, the zoo’s animal health team noticed each rear foot was not in normal alignment. The condition, known as hyperextended fetlocks, is well documented in horses and has been reported to occur in giraffes. One day after the giraffe was born, the zoo’s animal health team applied casts on both rear legs to help stabilize his limbs. The zoo’s veterinary team consulted with a Kentucky-based equine veterinarian who specializes in foot conditions. He visited the zoo to evaluate the calf, and crafted new custom sho...

Posted by Peter Zahler, Vice President of Conservation Initiatives When I was in fourth grade, I frequently sat on the curb of our little street in upstate New York and discussed environmental destruction and the end of the world with my best friend Dave. Admittedly this probably means I was not the most fun fourth grader on the planet to be around, but interestingly I went on to a long conservation career helping to save wildlife around the world, while my friend Dave went into marine conservation, diving with the Cousteau Society among other impressive career notes. Great ambitions inspired by dreamy afternoon haunts. Photo by Sam Szapucki via Flickr I’ve been reminded of our curbside apocalypse sessions lately because of the recent UN environmental reports, first on climate change and more recently on the estimated one million species under threat of extinction in the next few decades. It’s a little hard not to be stunned by these reports into a sense of paralysis, i...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo A Western pond turtle that has grown up at Woodland Park Zoo is ready to return to the wetlands of Washington state. Woodland Park Zoo is proud to be part of the W estern Pond Turtle Recovery Project . Western pond turtles were once plentiful up and down the coast of Washington to northern California and down to Baja, Mexico. However, loss of habitat, commercial exploitation for food, disease, drought, and introduced predators, such as bullfrogs and large-mouth bass, have decimated populations of the species. More than 1,000 released pond turtles are thriving at protected sites in our state. By the early 1990s, only about 150 Western pond turtles remained in two populations in Washington state and the species was nearly extirpated from our region. In 1991, Woodland Park Zoo joined forces with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to recover Western pond turtles by initiat...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications We have some very sad news to share. Our amazing South African lioness, Adia, passed away yesterday, May 21, at 9 years old from complications during surgery. The median life expectancy for lions in zoos is 16.9 years. Adia and her cubs in 2013.Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Adia came to the zoo as a one-year-old in 2010 and became the foundation of our breeding program. Her first litter astounded us because as she not only gave birth to 4 cubs but also proved to be a fantastic first time mom. She went on to produce one other litter a few years later, this one with her current mate Xerxes. She will always be remembered as a diligent mother and the queen of her pride. Ask Xerxes, who would always follow her lead. Adia had been anesthetized for a recheck exam at the zoo’s veterinary hospital due to slow healing after recent abdominal surgery. “During yesterday’s procedure, we took radiographs of Adia and discovered complications...

Posted by Wei Ying Wong, Vice President, Learning and Innovation Zoos and aquariums inspire wonder and forge connections to nature, but that emotional journey may be more powerful than we imagine. Most people can recall, in vivid detail, a time they experienced an emotional connection to an animal—whether visiting a zoo or aquarium or in your own backyard—we call that connection empathy. Increasingly, research shows that our connection with the natural world, and the creatures in it, inspire us to commit to making sustainable choices. Woodland Park Zoo has embarked on a journey to scientifically interrogate the mechanisms that lead people to emotional empathy and how those connections lead to sustainability actions. We are now analyzing how zoos and aquariums can intentionally inspire everyone to take meaningful actions on behalf of a healthier planet. Research tells us that human beings often make decisions that are driven by a complex interplay between emotion, environme...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, communications Photos and video by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo Video: https://youtu.be/T2_NH9SXAJA Squeeeeee! Our four little river otter pups have advanced to the big pool! They are now swimming, dipping, splashing and diving in (and out of) their outdoor habitat. The 8-week-old pups may look like floofy, wiggle balls, but they are already streamlined for the water. It's amazing how adapted for the aqua life these little pups are — already adept at swirling around and climbing in and out at the shore at lightning speed. Of course, this class of elite swimmers have been practicing with mom, Valkyrie, in a private indoor den pool. Swimming doesn’t come naturally to otter pups—the otter moms have to teach them how to swim, dip and dive — often by plunging them right in! Lessons might seem rough when mom grabs the pups by the scruff of their necks and dunks them in and out of the water, but this exercise assures the otter pups can handle...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo Our baby giraffe now has a name! The little giraffe will be called Hasani, which means handsome in Swahili and was also the name of the baby giraffe’s paternal grandfather. The name was chosen by zoo staff—a fitting name for our beautiful calf who has already stolen hearts across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Hello Hasani! The little calf stands tall next to mom, Olivia in the morning light of the giraffe barn. His custom-made shoes help support his legs and guide alignment. Hasani was born on May 2 to mom Olivia. Immediately after his birth, the zoo’s animal health team noticed each rear foot was not in normal alignment. The condition, known as hyperextended fetlocks, is well documented in horses and has been reported to occur in giraffes. One day after the giraffe was born, the zoo’s animal health team applied casts on both rear legs to help stabilize his limbs. A week a...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo A 9-day-old chick is placed into a cozy bowl (with a fleece towel) during a routine weigh-in and health check with animal keeper John. Breeding season for Woodland Park Zoo’s Humboldt penguins has officially come to a happy conclusion with the behind-the-scenes debut of two floofy new hatchlings. These newest chicks bring the total number of successful hatchings of the species at the zoo to 70 since the zoo’s first breeding season in 2010—one year after the penguin habitat opened. We won't know the sex of these chicks until DNA tests can be conducted. Two Humboldt penguin chicks have hatched this spring.  Penguin keeper John gets weights and measurements on the older and larger of the two chicks. This one is currently 5 weeks old! Incubation for penguins takes 40 to 42 days, with both parents sharing duties in the nest and day-to-day care for their chicks. The first chick h...