Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Fall is here! Crispy leaves, football, presidential debates, pumpkin spice lattes and… spidies! This orb weaver is decorating for fall! Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Spider webs appear everywhere; draped across your porch, athwart your front door, and if you happen to be tall, most likely dangling in your hair. Despite the unpleasantness of being greeted each morning with a silky web stuck to your face, orb weaver spiders are pretty incredible. Dancing in the morning fog, an orb weaver constructs her web. Woodland Park Zoo archive photo. There are more than 3,000 different species of orb weavers around the world, but the most common species in Western Washington is the cross spider ( Araneus diadematus ) . These tiny architects are unbelievable weavers. A female spider suns herself in the middle of her web. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Orb weavers construct their webs by first flinging

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Stepping into the greenhouse at Woodland Park Zoo, I am hit with a hot, humid air that smells of fertilizer, earth and some wildly primal perfumes. In the farthest corner is a table smothered in a muddle of vines, twisting tendrils and mysterious red and pink flanked vessels. Welcome to the land of the endangered old world pitcher plants, Nepenthes .   A dangerous view for a curious insect, the vibrant red lip on this pitcher plant is both tempting and deadly. I tracked down Woodland Park Zoo gardener and pitcher plant enthusiast, Justin Schroeder, who had a lot to say about these endangered carnivores. Old world pitcher plants live in very remote areas, deep in the hillsides of tropical Asia. They prefer sunny ridges and slopes to thick jungles. Rain and high humidity are important elements of their environment as they like a permanently wet soil. Old world pitcher plants can grow epiphytically, atop other plants, trees or logs

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. “We have some pretty cute violaceous turaco chicks in the Savanna Aviary ”, says excited zookeeper, Norah Farnham. “We have not hatched this species in quite a while!”   Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. The chicks, both boys, hatched a day apart on July 31 and August 1. Even though they have fledged the nest, these two stick together and follow each other from branch to branch. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. As this little chick stretches out, you can see his soft down. They are just starting to get their primary feathers and coloring. Zookeeper Katie Ahl told us she can see their beaks beginning to change color already! Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Here is a photo of an adult violaceous turaco. They have a really beautiful dark violet plumage with striking crimson primary flight feathers. Their orange beaks, as you can see, are also

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Kookaburra at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. I have quite a few favorite animals. When you work at the zoo, it’s hard to pick just one, but I never walk past the kookaburras without smiling. These birds are totally one of my favorites. Why? Here are the top ten reasons kookaburras are one of the coolest aves at the zoo: 1. Kookaburra itself is a very fine word, try saying it without smiling… impossible. The name "kookaburra", COOK-ah-burr-ah, came from the aboriginal tribal group, the Wiradjuri people, of New South Wales in Australia. They named this bird for the laughing sound it makes, onomatopoeic of its call. 2. Kookaburras sit in trees and laugh all day long. Although they vocalize more at dusk and dawn, kookaburras have one of the most unique vocalizations of any animal. Their laugh is so distinctive that it has been widely used in soundtracks on television, in movies, and more rece

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications These spring days can be such a tease, sunny and bright one minute and then a windy deluge the next, but ohhh the green! Bright shiny blades of emerald appear in magnificent patches across our lawns and meadows, flowers shoot up between cracks in the pavement and all the zoo appears to be bursting with life. Star magnolia after a heavy rain at the zoo . Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. The science behind springtime weather has an immense impact on our zoo.  After just a few weeks of spring rain showers and warmer days, the blooming canopy on our 93 acres has changed the landscape considerably. Hundreds of trees, shrubs, and flowers are in full vigor. The thriving green scenery that cloaks the zoo this time of year makes a distinct impression on visitors and residents alike.  Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo During April and May, solar radiation begins to heat up the earth's surface more and more. T