Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications The summer air is almost still, delicately scented with a sweet, seasonal bloom. Brilliantly winged creatures flit and float between lupine, spirea and honeysuckle. Here in the Molbak’s Butterfly Garden , speak softly and step carefully as you enter another world. Opening Sat., July 2, the new exhibit takes flight with 500 free-flying butterflies from at least 15 native North American species. You’ll get a full sensory introduction to the fragility and resilience of nature as flowers bloom and butterflies emerge around you. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Brittney Bush Bollay/Woodland Park Zoo. The presence of a single butterfly is enchanting—tiny, delicate and fairylike. Their littleness can be measured in grams, their adult lifespan sometimes just months, weeks or days. Yet butterflies are also grand in scale. In the Lepidoptera taxonomic order, there are at least 15,000 butterfly species and 250,000 moth species.

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Hello! If you are wondering, yes, “porcupette” is categorically the most adorable word in the English language. We have some prickly news to share. A baby porcupine, known as a porcupette, was born on May 7, 2016. The little critter is not yet on exhibit but has taken its first practice steps outdoors. As it grows more comfortable with crawling, climbing and exploring, it will make its official debut in its Northern Trail home soon.  As baby explores, mom Molly is doing exactly what porcupine mothers do. She is eating a lot and leaving her baby alone in its cozy den for most of the day. During the evening and throughout the night, Molly nurses the porcupette. In the wild, this behavior of nursing once a day allows the baby to rest, but it also keeps predators from spotting the baby. Porcupines are nocturnal, so the daylight hours are used for relaxing in a burrow of grass

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Mother’s Day gives us a reason to celebrate all the fierce, snugly, protective, patient, kind, encouraging, creative, amazing, smart and inspiring mamas out there. “Mom” can mean many things—whether the title refers to sharing 50% of our DNA or to being an incredible, strong role model in our life—we are grateful for all moms, mothers, mamas, mums, mommies, mas and mumsies! When it comes to motherhood, the matriarchs of the animal kingdom will do whatever it takes to protect their young. With a ferocious love for their family, these mamas go the extra mile to keep their family safe and provide enough food to help them thrive. While most human moms don’t resort to teeth or claws to protect their kids (although we don’t recommend you test them), they do share some essential traits with these outstanding animal moms. Here are a few of our favorite mommy moments caught by our zoo photographers. Home is where mom is.   The comf

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications ZooCorps volunteer Paul Houser, Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/WPZ Let's begin with a quote from William James, "Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does." When it comes to our dedicated volunteers, we could not find a truer sentiment. This National Volunteer Week, April 10-16, we'd like to acknowledge the  750+  Woodland Park Zoo volunteers who help our zoo shine. From their devotion to the zoo's animal care mission, to their passion for protecting wildlife and wild places—our  volunteers offer a host of wisdom, kindness and patience that inspires our guests and instills in our community a sense of wonder and gratitude.  Alycia Moncrieff assists the horticulture team in the Tropical Rain Forest. Photo by Dennis Dow/WPZ. Volunteers range in age from 12 to 94, and come from all over the place—some commute as far as Kennewick, WA .  From ZooCorps to Counselors in training to docents and a

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo If you’ve wandered through the Wildlife Survival Zone in the last week, you may have noticed an adorable new face peering out from atop his pine tree perch. Our newest member of the red panda family has been spotted chasing squirrels, eating pine cones and playfully exploring his new digs. Meet Carson, a 2-year-old, male red panda. Carson was born at Lincoln Children’s Zoo in July 2014 and was named after the famous television host Johnny Carson, who shares the panda’s birth city. Carson arrived at Woodland Park Zoo this February and has been collecting a host of fans ever since. This handsome red panda has a unique look; a paler face, lighter coat and slightly smaller physical features. Carson is a fulgens subspecies of red panda, so he is easy to tell apart from our other two pandas, Yukiko and Stellar. 10-year-old male, Yukiko, and 8-year-old female, Stellar are hang

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Little brown bat, Canandaigua, NY, photo by J. N. Stuart via Flickr On March 31, Fred Koontz, PhD, the zoo’s vice president of Field Conservation, shared with us some important news he had just received from Penny A. Becker, PhD, a wildlife diversity division manager at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). It was potentially devastating news. Penny’s email had detailed the first white-nose syndrome detection in a Washington state bat. The bat, found by hikers near North Bend, positively tested for the deadly disease. A mere 30 miles east of Woodland Park Zoo and the first case of white-nose syndrome west of the Rockies, the discovery could be catastrophic for local bats. This is disturbing news for bat conservationists across the country and very concerning for the bats in our own backyard. While you may not have heard much about the disease in the West, it is infamous on the East coast and much of the Midwest.

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren On January 15th, Junior the 16-year-old, 165 pound, male jaguar made a special visit to the Woodland Park Zoo Animal Health Department for an endodontic tooth repair on one of the biggest teeth in this big cat’s mouth.  During the procedure, Junior is anesthetized and monitored closely by the team of veterinary staff. On the way back to  Jaguar Cove, Junior has a team of vet staff and animal management to look out for him. When keepers noticed Junior’s tooth didn’t appear normal and that his upper right canine was partially broken, veterinary staff called on the expertise of a local veterinary dentist consultant, Allen Matson, DVM, DAVDC of Eastside Veterinary Dentistry in Woodinville, one of only a few board certified veterinary dentists in the country. Lucky for the zoo, Dr. Matson is fairly close by and generously offered to volunteer his time to take a look at Junior’s broken tooth. 

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Video and photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Every four years, Leap Day occurs on the 29th of February to round out our Gregorian calendars. With 6 extra hours accumulating each year, Leap Day serves as an “extra” day to make up for our not-exactly-even trips around the sun.  To help fill your 24 leaping hours, we bring you a closer look at the anatomy of a leap. With a little help from some very special creatures, a slow motion camera and a lot of patience (have you ever tried directing a frog?) here is a closer look at what it takes to leap. A frog’s leap can make the difference in its survival, the difference in becoming prey or catching prey. With a myriad of potential predators, including birds, fox, cats, snakes and people, as well as a host of elusive prey such as crickets, spiders, worms and fish—it’s no wonder frogs have mastered the art of a fast leap. Whether in an attempt to elude a predator or catch