Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Although toucans and hornbills look very similar, they are from two completely different families of birds. This is a great example of what is called convergent evolution. Toucans and hornbills are beautiful, fascinating creatures and throughout time, they have both adapted similarly to survive in similar ecological niches, despite the great geographical divide between them. Toucans reside in Central and South America, while hornbills are found only in Africa and Asia. Toucan (left) and hornbill (right) look similar though they are unrelated. Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. They both play the role of forest omnivore, feeding on fruits, insects and small creatures, including bird eggs, lizards and young mice. Their similar bills come in handy when foraging for food. Both groups of birds nest in cavities. These large bills also play a part in protecting eggs and nestlings from potential predators. So how do you tell the

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Unlike the largely solitary snow leopard or jaguar, lions are the most social of the big cats, regularly living in groups known as prides. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lions live in matriarchal societies, where lionesses make up the majority of the pride and take on various group responsibilities. In most prides, lionesses live among their cubs , sisters and female cousins. A few males live within the group, though most are unrelated. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lionesses are slender, making them more agile and faster than the males, which is helpful since the females are the primary hunters within the pride. While females hunt, the males guard their territory and protect the cubs from larger predators. Once old enough, male offspring will be run out of the pride and forced to join a bachelor pride until they can dominate a pride of their own. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Have you visi

Written by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Let’s take a moment to celebrate: we’ve got ourselves a new, endangered tree kangaroo joey doing well behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo! While we’re just now announcing the big news in February, the little critter was actually born way back in June. It has taken that long for the joey to finally emerge, as it has been tucked away all this time, hidden in mom’s pouch.  Totally worth the wait, though—just look at that face! Hold the phone! This tiny tree 'roo is almost on its own. It's been growing strong in its mother's pouch for nearly eight months!  The difference between marsupials and the other 20 types of mammals is often distinguished by their reproductive growth and development. What’s one of the greatest distinctions?  Well, it’s in the pouch. In fact, marsupial literally means “pouch.”  The secrets of pouch-growing marsupials bewilder many of our visitors, includ

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Nearly two weeks ago, a male Asian small-clawed otter arrived at the zoo. Albeit a little early, this little fella is here in anticipation of the first phase of the zoo’s new Asian tropical forest exhibit complex , which he will call home upon its opening in May. (Psst…look for more news about progress on the new exhibit coming up on the blog this Thursday.) All newly arrived animals go through a routine quarantine examination and weigh-in by zoo veterinarian staff. Much like your yearly physical at your doctor’s office, quarantine exams help our animal management staff gather information about the animal’s overall health and well-being. The zoo’s Director of Animal Health, Dr. Darin Collins, checks the otter’s heartbeat during the exam. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Today, our new otter received his quarantine exam and, as expected, he is in great shape!  The veterinary staff checked his weight, pulse and oxygen leve

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications With this weekend’s Hawks vs. Falcons game rapidly approaching, let’s take a look at some of the strengths of each opponent. Red-tailed hawk (left, photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo) and peregrine falcon (right, photo by Dennis Conner/Woodland Park Zoo) 1. Hawks capture and kill their prey with their feet, yet falcons rely on the tomial tooth of their beaks to break the necks of their prey. (I wouldn’t want to be that unlucky fellow…) 2. Hawks are known for their slow glides in the sky, while falcons are known for their incredible soaring speeds.  Falcons have produced speeds clocking in at 200 miles per hour! 3.Hawks have broad, wide wings that are perfect for soaring. Falcons have long, slender wings that are pointed at the tip, which give them greater agility in the air. Both hawks and falcons are strong and powerful creatures, but we’ll let the playoffs determine which of the two is best on the field. Is i

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications We’re capping off the year with yet another significant birth: an endangered sloth bear . Born Dec. 18, the tiny cub is off view with its mom, 7-year-old Tasha, in a behind-the-scenes maternity den. Dad, 16-year-old Randy, is staying in his own den right now, giving mom and cub their space to bond, which is a typical family structure for sloth bears. This screen capture from the internal web cam was taken just moments after the birth of the cub. The tiny size is normal, with an average birth weight for sloth bears at 10.5-17.5 ounces (300-500 g). Photo by Woodland Park Zoo. To minimize any disturbance to the family, zookeepers are keeping their distance, monitoring the new family via an internal web cam to keep their eye on things and make sure the cub continues to nurse and bond with mom. This is Tasha’s first cub, but her motherly instincts kicked in immediately. Right after the birth, she built two large mounds of hay in the

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications As a kid, the only turtles that really interested me lived in the dwellings of New York City, fought crime against the Foot Clan and exclaimed things like “Cowabunga!” Yep, I’m talking about these guys—the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Since then, my expectation of turtles hasn’t changed. They should be fierce fighters, find strength in numbers and ultimately, play a role in helping the world. It’s just that now, they are fighting extinction instead of foot soldiers, gaining numbers through captive breeding and head starting programs through zoos and conservation partners, and the important role they play on the planet is more ecologically significant than crime-fighting significant. More than 50 percent of the world’s known turtle species are facing extinction, making these reptiles one of the most endangered groups of animals on the planet. Turtle extinction is a global phenomenon, but with another successful turtle breeding seas

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications There were Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous visiting reindeer of all? Reindeer Lucky and Christi arrive at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lucky and Christi, two female reindeer, are making a guest appearance at the zoo for all six weeks of WildLights presented by KeyBank , the zoo's all new winter lights festival, opening tonight, Nov. 23. And with nine other famous reindeer on your minds this holiday season, it’s only appropriate to honor each of them with nine fascinating facts about these sleigh-pulling beauties. 1. Reindeer are also known as caribou in North America. Though, many use “reindeer” to describe domesticated caribou. 2. Different species of caribou live throughout subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. In the U.S., caribou inhabit the northern-most territories of the states and roam th

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Imagine the amount of food it takes to feed your family every week. The average American eats nearly 40 pounds of food a week. With two adults, maybe a teenager and a couple of kiddies gathered around the table, those appetites add up fast (especially now that Thanksgiving is here, and many of us double up on servings)! Now, imagine the zoo preparing dinner for three lions, three elephants and two full-grown hippos. Those 40 pounds of food, even the extra Thanksgiving servings, start to sound more like an afternoon snack now, don’t they? Trust us when we say that animal cravings are far greater than any hungry teenager in your household. At the zoo, our animals’ food comes through the commissary, which is more or less a grocery depot for the animals. Much like a neighborhood market might stock your family’s mealtime essentials, the commissary shelves each animal’s breakfasts, lunches and dinners based on the season’s freshest selec

Posted by Caileigh Robertson and Kirsten Pisto, Communications Yesterday, animals across the zoo were given enrichment in honor of Sounders fever! The zoo’s own line-up of animals gave it their all at a kicking exhibition to cheer on the Sounders heading to the MLS Cup playoffs. Here’s the rundown… In a pre-game scrimmage, our colony of penguins had a ball with their Sounders gear! Back and forth across the pool, the penguins porpoised through the water and dribbled with their beaks. Along the Northern Trail, Denali and Keema defended their Sounders soccer balls in good old-fashioned bear-to-bear defense. There were no passes to be made.  Keema and Denali held the defensive and both earned yellow cards for carrying the ball! At the other end of the Northern Trail, our wolves chased the Sounders ball between the trees and down the slope of their exhibit. Now if we can just get them to pass the ball or do anything other than bite into

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications If you’re on the hunt for Prince Charming, I’m giving a fair warning to stay clear of Woodland Park Zoo’s frog friends on exhibit. These frogs may seem like prince potential, but don’t be so quick to give them a kiss! The frog collection in the Day Exhibit is rather unique and houses more than eight amphibian species. Of these amphibians, many are native to rain forest regions of the world. The hourglass tree frog, red-eyed tree frog and green-and-black poison dart frog are among many amphibians living in the wet forests of Central America. Yellow hourglass tree frog. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. A little, colorful frog that leaps along the Costa Rican and Colombian wetlands is the yellow hourglass tree frog. Throughout the dry season, this little frog lives among the trees of the towering forest canopy. The cool, wet rain forests provide constant moisture for its skin to absorb until the dry season ends. With the