Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications The Indianapolis Prize has named six distinguished conservationists as DeHaan Finalists for the 2025 award, and Woodland Park Zoo is proud to announce that Lisa Dabek, PhD, senior conservation scientist at the zoo and founder of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program in Papua New Guinea, is among the six finalists.  Lisa Dabek, PhD, in Papua New Guinea with a Matschie's tree kangaroo. Photo by Jonathan Byers. The esteemed biennial award recognizes animal conservationists who have achieved major victories in saving an animal species or group of species. The DeHaan Finalists will each receive a $50,000 award to continue their efforts. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Indianapolis Prize is the world’s leading award for animal conservation, honoring individuals who are at the forefront of species protection and research. Nearly 30 years ago, Dabek traveled to the remote Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea in search of the elusive Matschie’s ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Woodland Park Zoo is home to five Matschie’s tree kangaroos, currently living behind the scenes while their new state-of-the-art exhibit is being built. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Imagine a world without digital technology. It would be nearly impossible to track a mysterious animal that has exceptional climbing and jumping skills…an animal that lives high in the dense canopy of the tropical cloud forest… a forest that flourishes in the remote, rugged mountains of the Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. If not for the ever-evolving digital assets of today, little would be known about this stealthy animal, the Matschie’s tree kangaroo, found only in Papua New Guinea. March 3, is World Wildlife Day, a day the United Nations designated a decade ago to celebrate Earth’s precious wild animals and plants. The theme for 2024 is Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation. Adorable Matschie’s tre...

Posted by Stephen Reed, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Havam, a male joey was born last August to mom Omari and dad Rocket. We're celebrating our five Matschie’s tree kangaroos, Rocket, Elanna, Omari, Keweng and Havam  every day, but especially on Saturday, May 29 for Tree Kangaroo Awareness Day! Tree Kangaroo Awareness Day spotlights endangered tree kangaroos and the important role they play in their ecosystem. The five tree kangaroos, who currently live in a habitat that is off-view from the public at Woodland Park Zoo, enjoy snacking on yams, arugula, swiss chard, corn and dandelion greens. Elanna is described as “sassy” and “cheeky” by her animal keepers and Keweng, Elanna’s daughter, has inherited some of her mother’s personality. Omari and her son Havam are more laid-back and settled. Rocket, the father of Havam and Keweng, is more hesitant to try new things, but he loves to dig into yams and carrots. His name is Havam which is the word for “...

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Photos courtesy of Woodland Park Zoo We all have the power to help save wildlife. This #InternationalWomensDay, Woodland Park Zoo shines the spotlight on women around the world who are breaking down barriers to shape a new future of conservation.  From the all-female team of reforesters who are planting a forest from the ground up, to a brave woman trekking through lush landscapes to help stop poachers in their tracks, to the story of two women living an ocean apart and working together to help save one of the most biodiverse habitats on planet Earth; these women are paving the way for future female conservationists everywhere.  Tree kangaroo joey, Keweng. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. From Seattle to the forests of Papua New Guinea “When I first went to Papua New Guinea, people doubted I had the physical strength and wherewithal to do the work. I took that as a challenge.” -Lisa Dabek, PhD, Founder of Tree Kangaroo Conservati...

Posted by Lisa Dabek, Director and Senior Conservation Scientist, with Trevor Holbrook, Program Manager, Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program As we near the end of the most challenging year anyone could have imagined and look ahead to a hopeful new year, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) team would like to take this opportunity to wish you good health and safety and express our deepest gratitude for your continued interest and support. 2020 was a unique year for TKCP and the people and wildlife of YUS, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Our program continues to make significant impacts for conservation, and we are proud to share a few of our recent highlights. Photo by Jonathan Byers/TKCP Thrive Wildlife Heroes We hope you will join us for an inspiring live stream event featuring Dr. Lisa Dabek as our keynote speaker and Conservation Leadership Award Honoree. Lisa brought the zoo-based knowledge of Matschie’s tree kangaroos to Papua New Guinea where no previous work had been done on th...

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo World, meet Keweng (kay-wing), or “Kay” as she is affectionately nicknamed for short!  This sweet female Matschie’s tree kangaroo, born to mom Elanna and dad Rocket in January, is named after a village in the YUS Conservation Area (YUS) in Papua New Guinea. YUS is home to Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program , and Keweng is one of the main villages in YUS. “Keweng is the home of Mambawe Manauno, the first landowner and former tree kangaroo hunter, who showed me tree kangaroos for the very first time in 1996,” explains TKCP founder and Director Lisa Dabek, PhD (also WPZ’s Senior Conservation Scientist). “Manauno was also the 2003 recipient of the Woodland Park Zoo Conservation Award. It’s so great to be able to pay tribute to his work with the naming of this special joey.” Day by day, little Keweng is becoming more familiar with the world around her. She ...

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications In just a few weeks, Woodland Park Zoo Senior Conservation Scientist Lisa Dabek, PhD, will be back in Papua New Guinea to continue her work for the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP). During that time, Dabek will meet with national government officials and the U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea to discuss TKCP’s goals for 2019 and beyond, which include incorporating the One Health approach into existing local governments’ initiatives. Young children (and future conservationists) celebrate TKCP's 20th anniversary in 2016. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo “The health of humans, wildlife and the environment is all interconnected,” says Dabek. Dabek founded TKCP, Woodland Park Zoo’s flagship conservation program, 22 years ago as a study on endangered tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea—an island nation with immense biological diversity that is home to one of the last remaining intact cloud forests on the planet. But the same ...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto with President and CEO, Alejandro Grajal PhD A tree kangaroo checks out the hikers. Photo by Alejandro Grajal/Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO, Alejandro Grajal, PhD, recently returned from his trip to Papua New Guinea, where he explored the community and conservation impacts of Woodland Park Zoo's Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP). His mission? Experience first-hand the TKCP community and landscape that coexist in remarkable ways, bring back some of their stories, and change the batteries on three radio collars attached to three tree kangaroos that live nearly three stories about the forest floor. Woodland Park Zoo’s own Lisa Dabek, PhD, started the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program over 20 years ago. Her dedication to saving species has created a network of partners and communities that protect over 160,000 acres of tropical cloud forest, villages, plantations and grasslands, as well as 100 acres of coral reef i...