Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Welcome to the world, baby! A fuzzy, pink-faced monkey with all-white fur has made its appearance in the tropical rain forest at Woodland Park Zoo! A black and white colobus monkey was born on June 15 to mom Mokiki (moh-KEE-kee) and dad Lewis, marking the first birth of the species at the zoo in 29 years. Mokiki is an experienced mother. This is her second offspring and the first for new father, Lewis. The new baby, whose sex has not yet been determined, is the second offspring for mom Mokiki; she gave birth to a daughter, Anapenda, while living at her former home. Anapenda arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2024 with her mom. With long white fringes that run down their dramatic black coats and merge with their floofy, snow-white tail, black and white colobus look very much like skunks! Their long tails, which can grow to a length of 20 to 40 inches, act a bit like a parachute, slowing down their land...

Posted by Craig Newberry, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Marabou storks are one of the world's largest stork species! Woodland Park Zoo is thrilled to welcome a pair of massive Marabou Storks! These feathery friends, native to Africa, stand between four to five feet tall and boast a wingspan of up to ten feet. The male, Olaf, 8, and the female, Abigail, 4, are now viewable to the public in the zoo's Temperate Forest across from the maned wolves, they’ll be sharing the same habitat as the zoo’s other new feathered residents—two critically endangered hooded vultures. These large birds are bald and beautiful with no feathers on their neck and head. Similar to vultures, the marabou storks are primarily scavengers feeding off dead animals, as well as fish, insects and food scraps from humans. The birds provide an essential ecosystem service by rapidly consuming animal remains, helping prevent the spread of disease. These large birds are bald and beaut...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Jamani is caring for Olympia's baby boy.  Olympia is caring for Jamani's baby boy. The birth and care of two western lowland gorillas at Woodland Park Zoo have been exciting and fluid with several twists and turns along the way. The newest twist: The newborns have been switched and each mother is caring for the other’s baby—intentionally. Jamani gave birth to a son on May 18 and Olympia delivered a son on May 24 via cesarean section, an extremely rare procedure on gorillas, due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. With intentions of introducing Olympia’s son to her the following day, Jamani picked up the baby instead and stepped in to care for both babies while Olympia recovered from the procedure and remained nearby. Each gorilla baby now has a mama nursing and caring for them. All the adults and babies are doing well and are together as a family unit.  While Jamani pull...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Woodland Park Zoo Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo One of the two male gorilla infants recently born at Woodland Park Zoo is currently under round-the-clock human care and showing signs of improvement after receiving bottle feeding to help address dehydration and increase his weight. The mom of the baby western lowland gorilla is Jamani, who gave birth to her son on May 18. The other infant gorilla was born on May 24 to Olympia via cesarean section due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. It marked Woodland Park Zoo’s first gorilla born via C-section in its 126-year history. C-sections on gorillas are extremely rare, with under a dozen performed worldwide. The day after the C-section on Olympia, her baby was introduced to her. While she showed interest, Jamani picked up the baby instead and was caring for the two babies with Olympia nearby in the same family troop. “Jamani has been pulling double duty caring for two babies. Whi...