Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications A set of new spots and striping has appeared at the zoo with the birth of an ocelot ! A single kitten, seen here at 3 weeks old, was born on January 15 to 10-year-old mother Bella and 15-year-old father Brazil. At this early stage, keepers want to minimize disturbance and physical contact outside of quick health check-ups to give the new family time to naturally bond. So for now, the mother and kitten are off public view in a dark birthing den and keepers are monitoring their progress via infrared camera. Here’s a peek at some of the black and white footage from baby’s first few weeks: Where’s dad? Like in the wild, mother ocelots care for their young alone. Brazil is keeping his distance and can be seen on exhibit in the award-winning Tropical Rain Forest . Curator Mark Myers tells us that Bella, an experienced mother , has been providing excellent round-the-clock and protective maternal care. The kitten is nursing regularly and has a healthy,

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications This week a stunning pair of Steller’s sea eagles made their debut in our award-winning Northern Trail exhibit, joining the honorary ranks of the Seattle Seahawks’ 12th Man just in time to salute the Seahawks as they face the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s divisional playoff. The sea eagles’ connection to the Hawks runs deep—the Seahawks actually helped bring these beautiful birds to the zoo! Back in 2008, Seahawks executives co-chaired the zoo’s major fundraiser, Jungle Party , and, under their leadership, helped raise funds to bring the sea eagles to the zoo and support their daily care, including quarantine, veterinary care, nutritional plans and enrichment. So we’re cheering on the Seahawks this week ourselves: visit the zoo this Saturday or Sunday and get a Seahawks #12 button (while supplies last) at either zoo entrance! When you visit, be sure to make your way up to Northern Trail to see these impressive birds in person. Along with the harp

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Our five Humboldt penguin chicks have joined the adult colony and can now be viewed on exhibit during zoo hours. To get them used to being in the water before they debuted, the chicks had round-the-clock access to a shallow pool behind the scenes at the exhibit where they could practice floating and swimming in a more controlled and less crowded environment. See them in action here… The youngest of the chicks, a male hatched to parents Diego and Radar on April 25, is in need of a name and we’re asking our online fans to help. Fans can submit name suggestions for the chick to the wall of our Facebook page beginning July 7 through July 8, noon PST. To honor the Humboldt penguin’s Chilean and Peruvian native range, fans are encouraged to submit Spanish-language names. Penguin keepers will select their three favorite names from the submissions, and fans will then vote on July 9 on the zoo’s Facebook page for their top pick. So start thinking up s

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications In April, we celebrated the hatching of five Humboldt penguin chicks . Yesterday, we showed off a couple of these chicks to local press, and are they growing fast! The biggest chick weighed in at 8 pounds and is just 3 inches shy of reaching full adult height. While penguin chicks do grow surprisingly fast, they still have that adorable “babyish” look. Wearing the downy plumage they were born with, their gray, waterproof feathers are starting to grow in. The three sets of parents continue to raise their young in nesting burrows in a quiet, off-exhibit room. The chicks shown in these photos hatched on the first of April and on Easter Sunday, representing the oldest chicks from this year’s breeding season. We don’t know the gender of the chicks yet but will find out in the near future through DNA testing. So, when do you get to see the chicks? Our plan is to introduce them to the outdoor exhibit sometime in late June to mid-July, but first we nee

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications As we shared earlier this week , Easter has delivered an early batch of eggs to Woodland Park Zoo – Humboldt penguin eggs, that is – and the first chick was discovered to have hatched on April Fool’s Day! The first penguin chick represents the first offspring for mother Dora and father PJ, both 3 years old. The second egg in their nest shows pipping activity and is expected to hatch on Easter Sunday. The newly hatched chick weighs 2.1 oz. Humboldt penguin chicks hatch with grayish brown, downy feathers, which molt into completely gray feathers when they fledge. It will be early summer before any of the chicks emerge from the nesting burrows and venture outdoors into the public exhibit for visitors to enjoy. Over the last few weeks, three pairs of Humboldt penguins have been sitting on two eggs each in the burrows specially constructed for the birds in their new exhibit. At least two of the remaining four eggs are fertile. Staff plans to cand

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been piling Zoo Doo deeper and higher all winter. What does this mean? It means the annual Spring Fecal Fest is here, the time of year when local gardeners scramble to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread. Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest, perfect for vegetables and annuals, composed of exotic species feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores. See how Zoo Doo gets made in this clip from the PBS show Biz Kid$ : For a chance to purchase Zoo Doo or Bedspread, send in a postcard from March 5 – 20. You can enter both the Zoo Doo and Bedspread drawings, but separate postcards are required. For Zoo Doo, mark your postcard “Zoo Doo.” For Bedspread, mark your postcard “B.S.” Entry cards will be selected randomly for as many entrants possible. Dr. Doo will contact the lucky drawn entries only.

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The way to an otter’s heart is an ice pop made with a splash of fruit juice, a handful of smelt, a sprinkling of carrots and a whole lotta love. Enjoy this video of Woodland Park Zoo’s pair of river otters —Sunny, the 14-year-old female, and Duncan, the 12-year-old male—as they frolic with their custom-made, heart-shaped ice pops for an early Valentine’s Day celebration: Other zoo animals will celebrate Valentine’s Day presented by Franz Bakeries with heart-shaped ice pops, herbal bouquets, heart-shaped steaks, and more on Saturday, Feb. 13, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Full schedule of enrichment activities is available online so you can plan your perfect Valentine’s date! The special treats are part of the zoo’s ongoing enrichment program to help enrich the lives of the animals by promoting natural animal behavior, such as foraging, playing and exploring, keeping animals mentally and physically stimulated and engaging zoo visitors. Photos: R

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham & Gigi Allianic, Communications Woodland Park Zoo is cheering for the Seattle Sounders FC as they head to the first round of MLS Cup playoffs this week. This morning, the animals got into the spirit of the playoffs their own way. While we didn’t see any banana kicks or diving headers here, the zoo’s grizzly bears, twin snow leopard cubs, and Humboldt penguins did have quite the time playing with and kicking around soccer balls. The soccer balls for the animals are a form of enrichment as part of the zoo’s animal care program to help enhance the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and engage zoo visitors. The cubs playfully tumbled with the soccer balls, the bears crushed them with their jaws, and the penguins excitedly dove around the soccer balls floating in their pool. Do your own cheering as the Seattle Sounders FC face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Playoff Western Conference Semifinals on T

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications We’ve got exciting news! A Chilean flamingo chick has hatched at Woodland Park Zoo, marking the first time the zoo has successfully hatched a Chilean flamingo in its 109-year history! The chick hatched in an incubator on August 25, following a 29-day incubation period. To ensure a higher chance of survival, a team of dedicated and expert staff are hand-raising and hand-feeding the chick off public exhibit for now. You might remember the arrival of a new flock of more than 25 flamingos last year. They debuted in a brand new 4,000-square-foot exhibit that opened in May 2008. This spring represented the first full breeding season for the new flock in the new exhibit as the graceful birds put on a striking show of synchronized courtship and ritualized behaviors for zoo guests – head flagging, wing saluting and marching in sequence and unison. This active display culminated with nest building, egg laying and one chick to date! Zoo guests can see the

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications After nearly a year of nourishment and care by Woodland Park Zoo turtle experts, 53 endangered western pond turtles swam their way back into the wild when we joined Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to release the turtles last week at wildlife refuge sites in Pierce and Mason Counties. On hand to help release the shelled reptiles was 7-year-old Harrison Keyser of Sammamish, Wash. (pictured at left with his sisters) who arranged a “Turtle Trot” to raise more than $300 for the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project. Harrison told us he thought “it was really cool letting the turtles go in the pond” and he’d like to do this again next year. We’d be happy to have you back, Harrison! The 10-month-old turtles were collected last fall from the wild as hatchlings and head started at the zoo to give them an edge on surviving in the wild. Collection Manager Mike Teller and his keepers have a system for growing the turtles to just the right size: “W

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications “Hey, sweetie” may sound pretty cute, but a male snow leopard cub needs a befitting name to match his majestic beauty. Starting next week on August 4, you can help name the 2½-month-old cub through Woodland Park Zoo’s online naming poll. The female cub has been named Batu (pronounced BAH-too), meaning firm, hard, honest in Mongolian. You'll have your choice of four Mongolian names for the male cub: - Gobi (go-bee) – named for Gobi Desert in Mongolia - Boke (rhymes with poke ) – “Strong” - Irbis (ear-biss) – “Leopard” - Vachir (voch-err) – “Thunderbolt” Mongolia is one of the 12 countries that is home to the endangered snow leopard. The winning name will be announced when the cubs make their public debut at Snow Leopard Day on Saturday, August 15. The third annual event is hosted by the zoo and its conservation partner, the Snow Leopard Trust , to highlight the fascinating adaptations of the snow leopard and critical conservation efforts to

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The pair of snow leopard cubs are growing, playing and now testing the likes of solid food! See the male and female siblings get their six-week examination and receive their first set of vaccinations as part of the zoo’s excellent animal and medical care program. Then at the end, watch them be rewarded with their first taste of solid food—chicken! The cubs were born on Memorial Day to first-time parents, 4-year-old Helen and 3-year-old Tom. Mom and cubs remain off public exhibit to ensure continual bonding and proper nursing while staff monitors the new family via an internal web cam. The male weighed in yesterday at 7 pounds and the female, 6 pounds. According to their keepers the cubs are venturing outside the birthing den more frequently and playing, particularly favoring a game of playing with mom’s tail! Dr. Kelly Helmick, associate veterinarian at the zoo, gave the cubs a clean bill of health and will continue to administer exams and the n