Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Our gorilla care team has lovingly named this baby Abeo, which means "bringer of happiness" in the Yoruba language. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren A week ago, Woodland Park Zoo announced its critical decision to move its 1½-month-old male gorilla to another zoo to ensure he is raised by gorillas and grows up as a gorilla. He has safely arrived at his new home, Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, where he will be socialized with a foster gorilla mom and multigenerational family of gorillas. Woodland Park Zoo’s gorilla care team has lovingly named the baby gorilla, Abeo (ah-beh-OH), which means “bringer of happiness” in Yoruba, after a language spoken in West Africa. This is Kweli, an experienced, nurturing mother and surrogate. Photo courtesy of Louisville Zoo. Every precautionary measure was taken for the baby gorilla’s travel to reduce his health exposure and ensure his safe arrival. A Woodland Park Zoo gorilla caretaker and veterinarian accomp...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren Ulan, with her calf Sempurna, in 2020. At the end of the month, Woodland Park Zoo will say goodbye to its last remaining Malayan tapir, Ulan. The 12-year-old female will head to Fresno Chaffee Zoo, an AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited zoo in Fresno, California. The last day to show Ulan some love will be August 27 in the Trail of Vines habitat. Tapirs are among the most primitive large mammals in the world, changing little in appearance for millions of years. These prehistoric-looking animals are long and similar to the weight of a light horse. They have a short, prehensile nose which they use to pluck leaves and fruit. Tapirs are excellent swimmers and use their snouts as snorkels! Because they have an odd number of toes (four toes on each front foot, three on each back foot), their closest relatives are horses and rhinos. Ulan and her daughter, Sempurna, sit side by side in 2020. Ulan arrived at Wo...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher Beautiful Batu is preparing to become a mother! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo In June we shared the happy news that, for the first time in 35 years, one of Woodland Park Zoo’s orangutans is pregnant and expecting a baby soon! Sumatran orangutan, Batu, is 14 years old and is due to give birth any day now. The father is 15-year-old Godek, who is also a Sumatran orangutan. This will be the first offspring for both of them. Thirty-five-year-old male Heran and 43-year-old female Belawan (Bela) round out our orangutan group. They live in a separate but adjacent area from Godek and Batu. Since making this exciting announcement, we have heard from many of you, offering well-wishes and asking for an update on how everything is going. So, without further ado, here are the answers to some of your questions, courtesy of our experts—orangutan keeper Laura McComesky and interim animal care manager Rachel Vass. Beautiful Batu is eating her greens and ge...

Posted by Craig Newberry, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Three snow leopard cubs born at Woodland Park Zoo now have names! Their names are Lenny, Phyllis and Raya. Lenny, male, and Phyllis, female, were named by special friends of the zoo; Raya (RYE-uh), female, was named by Woodland Park Zoo animal keepers. The three cubs have been busy exploring and getting familiar with the public habitat and can now be seen by guests! The best chance to catch a glimpse of these cuties is daily between 9:30 a.m. and noon. The cubs were born on Memorial Day to mom Marai, 7, and dad Aibek, 6. This is their first litter of cubs after they were paired under the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species. Since snow leopards are solitary animals in the wild, the cubs’ father and grandmother Helen are housed separately. Guests can see either Aibek and Helen, 19...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo In a move to ensure a baby gorilla is raised by gorillas and grows as a gorilla, Woodland Park Zoo has made a critical decision to move its 1½-month-old gorilla boy to another zoo so he can be raised by a surrogate gorilla mom and socialized with a multigenerational family of gorillas. The baby, who has not yet been named, was born June 28 at Woodland Park Zoo to first-time mom Akenji and dad Kwame. Because Akenji hadn’t shown any interest in caring for her baby, human intervention was necessary; gorilla staff have been providing 24/7 care for the baby since shortly after he was born. Further attempts to unite mom and baby were unsuccessful. For the last several weeks, the focus has been on training three experienced gorilla moms living at the zoo as potential surrogates. Although Woodland Park Zoo has a remarkable track record with hand- and assist-rearing babies before successfully introducing t...

Posted by Woodland Park Zoo Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The newest little gorilla baby is healthy, thriving, and growing! A lot of you have been asking for an update on our baby gorilla. You may recall 22-year-old western lowland gorilla Akenji gave birth to a baby boy on June 28 . She showed no interest in the infant after he was born or in the following days, so our expert gorilla care staff has been caring for the baby 24/7 and providing everything this baby needs to get off to a good start in life. "Our team in the gorilla unit is dedicated to providing this infant with the care, nutrition and safety he needs at this early stage, and we are continuing to assess the female gorilla surrogate options. Having a gorilla mother-figure is critical to his development and wellbeing, and we are committed to finding the right match so that this baby can thrive and grow up gorilla." says Martin Ramirez, Senior Director of Animal Care and General Cur...