Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren and Dennis Dow Woodland Park Zoo Kaya on Living Northwest Trail in 2023 Woodland Park Zoo is mourning the loss of a female gray wolf named Kaya (KAI-yuh). The 13-year-old passed away while under anesthesia for a diagnostic procedure at the zoo’s veterinary hospital. In human care, the median life expectancy is 11–12 years old. At 13 years old, Kaya was a geriatric wolf. Woodland Park Zoo has been home to gray wolves for more than 70 years. Kaya arrived at the zoo in 2010 along with three of her sisters, all 1 year old at the time. Only one wolf, Shila (SHY-lah), a sister of Kaya, remains at the zoo; two of their sisters passed away over the last couple of years. Shila lives in the Living Northwest Trail, which is also home to the new Canada lynx, brown bears, snowy owls, elk, river otters, western pond turtles and more wildlife native to the Pacific Northwest. “For more than seven decades, gray wolves have always ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Meet the newest members of our Woodland Park Zoo family—a pair of nene (pronounced nay-nay) also known as the Hawaiian goose. This species is the rarest goose in the world and it's the first time we've had them here in the zoo’s 123-year-old history. The male, 11 years old, and female, 5 years old, can be seen in the zoo’s Conservation Aviary walk-through along with other bird species including tawny frogmouths and Nicobar pigeons. Found only in Hawaii, the nene is the largest native land animal in the state. With a current population of approximately 3,800 nene in its native range, it is the sixth most endangered waterfowl species worldwide. Once numbering in the thousands, the population dropped to only 30 birds by the early 1950s due to predation by invasive species such as feral dogs, cats, rats, and mongoose in addition to hunting. For the past six decades, breeding and reintroduc...

Posted by Craig Newberry, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo Get excited! This Sunday, May 21, is World Tree Kangaroo Day and Woodland Park Zoo is celebrating by announcing two new endangered Matschie’s tree kangaroo joeys at the zoo.  Female tree kangaroos Elanna, 15, and Omari, 14, gave birth to the unnamed pair of joeys—the zoo’s male tree kangaroo Rocket, 9, fathered both. These joeys were actually born in August 2022 but have recently become large enough to be visible in their mother’s pouches. The arrival of these marvelous marsupials is particularly exciting because the zoo broke ground earlier this month on their future home. The new immersive, best-in-class exhibit will be home to Matschie’s tree kangaroos, red pandas, keas and forest reptiles. The exhibit, scheduled to open in 2026, will mark the first time visitors at Woodland Park Zoo will have an opportunity to see the tree kangaroos in a decade! Please note, tree kangaroos live in a be...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Two brilliantly colored flamboyant flower beetles in Bug World.  After being closed for several months, Woodland Park Zoo's popular Bug World building has reopened with upgrades and the reintroduction of arthropods—the largest group of invertebrates. Admission to Bug World is included with general zoo admission. A garden fruit chafer insect. From the temperate forest and desert to the savanna and tropics, Bug World unleashes the world of 16 species of arthropods. Discover the Mexican red-knee tarantula, western horse lubber, two-spotted assassin bug, Peruvian fire walking stick, flamboyant flower beetle, fierce waterbug, emperor scorpion and many more, and develop a new appreciation for these animals. A new kind of lighting in this revamped space more closely replicates what all the species in Bug World would experience in their natural habitats—all the better for their care! One of the new feat...