Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Stellar. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Enticed by a bowl of blueberries, red panda Stellar knows what to do. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. She makes her way to her keeper in a behind-the-scenes room, gets up on her hind legs and props herself onto a T-stand—constructed by the keeper for this very purpose—and waits for her reward. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. While Stellar takes berries from her keeper or sometimes buries her face full in a bowl of biscuits soaked in apple juice, a member of our animal health team conducts a non-invasive ultrasound exam on her. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. We’re hoping for signs that will verify a pregnancy. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Several months ago, we introduced our new male red panda, Yukiko, to 8-year-old Stellar. The pair has successfully mated and now the ultrasound examinations are regularly underway—eve

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Yesterday we said goodbye to Pokey and Lambchop. At 30 years old, the two were among the oldest black-and-white colobus monkeys in North America. Lifetime companions, Pokey and Lambchop produced four offspring and eventually grew old together. After a period of age-related physical decline, the elderly pair was humanely euthanized. Lambchop was born at Woodland Park Zoo and Pokey lived at the zoo for 24 years. Colobus monkeys can live up to 33 years in zoos and up to 20 in the wild. Two females and a male colobus remain at the zoo in the award-winning Tropical Rain Forest exhibit. As part of the zoo’s exemplary quality care program, the colobus monkeys were under a prescribed program to help manage their geriatric infirmities. “We medically managed their osteoarthritis with daily medications to help maintain their comfort and mobility, and provided nutrient-supplements for overall health,” said Dr. Kelly Helmick, associate v

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Sunny the otter (foreground) with her mate, Duncan. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. For the past couple of decades, a female river otter named Salishan enchanted visitors with her energetic diving, gliding and cuteness. Now we say goodbye to the otter keepers fondly called "Sunny." Sunny was humanely euthanized today at the age of 19 following a period of declining health and lethargy. River otters live 8 to 10 years in the wild and 18 to 20 years in zoos. The zoo’s consulting veterinary cardiologist, Dr. Jerry Woodfield with Northwest Cardiology Consultants, diagnosed the otter a year ago with age-related congestive heart failure. She was given a prognosis of three to six months to live but survived another 12 months. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. “Targeted treatment, close monitoring, excellent supportive care, and lots of TLC by our keeper and veterinary staff all contributed to giving Salishan a v

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Dr. Robert Long sets up a non-invasive hair snare to snag wolverine hair that can be used for DNA analysis. Photo by Steven Gnam. Dr. Robert Long, Woodland Park Zoo’s first senior conservation fellow, has been recognized among the first group of 20 scientists awarded  the newly established Wilburforce Fellowship in Conservation Science, announced recently by the Wilburforce Foundation and COMPASS. The overarching goal of the Wilburforce Fellowship program is to build a community of conservation science leaders who excel in using science to help achieve durable conservation solutions in western North America. The Wilburforce Fellowship program provides skills development and sustained mentorship to help spark transformative, lasting change in how scientists approach their work. By bringing together scientists from across a broad spectrum of career stages, disciplines, geographies, and affiliations, the Wilburforce Fellowship will bre

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications They may not be as well-known by the 180 million people who visit Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos and aquariums each year, but desert pupfish , freshwater mussels , and Polynesian tree snails play important roles in their respective ecosystems. If not for the hard work of AZA-accredited institutions and their conservation partners, some of these and many other animals would already have vanished from the planet. With a growing number of human-influenced threats threatening animals around the world, including poaching, deforestation, and an expanding population that already exceeds 7 billion people, we are facing what some scientists call the “Sixth Extinction.” The 228 accredited members of AZA continue to build upon their history and expertise of saving endangered species such as breeding programs that coordinate across many institutions to ensure healthy genetic and demographic diversity and partnerships with loc

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications One of more than 500 Oregon spotted frogs reared at Woodland Park Zoo that were released into the wild last week. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Precious frog . That's the meaning of  Rana pretiosa , the scientific name for the Oregon spotted frog, and a fitting one for a disappearing native. But there's good news to celebrate: more than 500 Oregon spotted frogs reared at Woodland Park Zoo were released last week into marshy wetlands at a protected site in Pierce County. These precious frogs will help rebuild the wild population in their native Northwest. Dr. Jennifer Pramuk, Woodland Park Zoo curator, packing frogs for an early morning release. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. The frogs were collected from wetlands as eggs and placed at the zoo for hatching and rearing for several months in a predator-free home as they transformed from tadpole to juveniles. This head start increases the

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The vets got a first look at the cubs on Friday. Photo by Dr. Darin Collins.  The pride of Woodland Park Zoo just got a little bigger! Video: Lion cub triplets first few hours Three African lions were born yesterday on Oct. 24. The cubs represent the first litter between the mother, 5-year-old Adia, and 7-year-old father, Xerxes. This is the first offspring for the father. The last birth of lions was in 2012 when Adia gave birth to four cubs with a different male. A screen capture from an internal cam shows Adia with one of her cubs.  Zookeepers moved the cubs into the off-view maternity den where the new family can bond in comfortable, quiet surroundings. Before reuniting the cubs with mom, the zoo's veterinary team did a quick health assessment of the cubs and determined that all three are males. The father remains separated from the cubs and mother. Zookeepers are monitoring the new family round-the-clock. The mot

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Hot packs, ice treatment, massage, exercise ball, laser therapy…is this a physical therapy session? Close, but not for a human patient. These applications are part of a physical rehabilitation session for a domestic goat living at Woodland Park Zoo. The goat, a 7-year-old male named Waldo, is undergoing physical rehabilitation to help alleviate pain and improve his range of motion. Last year, Waldo was becoming more reluctant to move and showing signs of front and rear limb weakness. Following a thorough assessment by the zoo’s animal health team, which revealed compressed disks in his neck and lumbar spine, the goat was put on a physical rehabilitation program as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Video: Goat. Laser beams. Yoga ball. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. At the zoo, physical rehabilitation is used to help alleviate discomfort from an injury or surgical treatment, to improve circulation or range of motion

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The chick was photographed here at 8 days old. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. For the first time at Woodland Park Zoo, an Edwards’s pheasant has hatched—a bird that is believed to be extinct in the wild! The Edwards’s pheasant is not exactly common in zoos either. Only 15 individuals live in seven zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. We have been providing a home for a pair since 2012. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. You can see the 6-year-old mother and 1-year-old father in our Conservation Aviary located in the Temperate Forest zone. The little chick, now just under 2 weeks old, is being hand-reared by zookeepers behind the scenes to help ensure it gains weight as expected of a growing chick and hits all of its important developmental milestones. With such a significant hatching of such a rare species, we’re taking extra precautions to ensure its health and survival. A close up of the ch

Posted by: Gigi Allianic with Rebecca Whitham, Communications She’s got quills, they’re multiplying. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The littlest new addition to Woodland Park Zoo is a female North American porcupine, born April 4 in our Northern Trail exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Porcupine babies, known as porcupettes (seriously), are born with a soft coat of quills that begins to harden within hours of birth. This immediately protects them from predators...and thick gloves immediately protect us from them! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Our porcupette was born to Molly and Oliver, both 3-year-old residents of Northern Trail. This is their second offspring. The baby has access all day and night to the porcupine exhibit, but for now prefers to spend most of her time exploring in a den behind the scenes. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo She grooms herself a lot and is experimenting with different solid foods, like this spec

Posted by: Gigi Allianic with Rebecca Whitham, Communications We’re committed to putting an extinct snail species back on the map in its native Tahiti. But first, we’re putting it on the zoo map. What was once a behind-the-scenes conservation breeding program is now front and center for zoo visitors with the new snail lab on view near the zoo’s Bug World. VIDEO: Extinct species making a comeback in Seattle. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Around 100 different species of Partula once existed on islands stretching across the South Pacific from Palau to French Polynesia, but due to the introduction of an invasive and carnivorous snail, Partula were reduced to about five species in less than 10 years in the 1980s. Before they vanished completely, scientists stepped in and collected small remnant populations of snails on the islands and sent these precious few to zoos for captive breeding. However, a survey conducted in 1987 on the island of Moorea could not locate a s