Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications A remote camera station in the North Cascades spots a visitor: a rare red fox! A carnivore in the North Cascades has lived up to its reputation—crafty as a fox. During a recent visit to a high-elevation camera station (~6,500 feet) in the North Cascades, Woodland Park Zoo field biologists discovered photos of a red fox that stopped by in early March. Given the station’s remote mountainous location, scientists are hopeful that this rare visitor was a native Cascade red fox ( Vulpes vulpes cascadensis ), a subspecies of red fox that is currently listed as Endangered in Washington state. Because Cascade red foxes are not visually distinctive from non-native red foxes, genetic information is required to determine if a fox is a Cascade red fox. The field biologists, Robert Long, PhD, and Paula MacKay, deployed the cameras last summer as part of their leadership role with the Cascades Carnivore Monitoring Program , a highly collaborative, long-term mon...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren  Pups should make for an ottersome summer! Valkyrie and Ziggy on Living Northwest Trail It’s otter happiness at Woodland Park Zoo for the birth of two North American river otters! The pups were born March 29 and are the second litter for mom Valkyrie and dad Ziggy, both 9 years old. The last birth of the species at the zoo was in 2019.  During a neonatal check-up, the zoo’s animal health team have confirmed the pups to be a female and a male. The teeny pups currently weigh 10 ounces each—about the weight of five fun-size Snickers bars! The gestation period for river otters is 68 to 72 days. Pups are born blind and are completely helpless, relying solely on mom for care during the first year. They open their eyes at about a month old. Stay tuned for fun updates at www.zoo.org/zoobabies . One of the pups during a neonate health check. Photo by Pat Owen, Woodland Park Zoo. Valkyrie and the newborn otters are...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Huckleberry and Holly are half-siblings. Woodland Park Zoo’s herd of elk just got bigger with the addition of a new male, Huckleberry, and female, Holly. Both elk, who are half-siblings, were born at Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, N.D. Both will turn 1 year old this summer. The new elk bring the herd to a total of five individuals. In addition to Huckleberry and Holly, the zoo is home to females Lily, Willow and Buttons. Last summer, the zoo mourned the loss of its only male elk, Goodwyn (good-win), who died at 20 years old due to geriatric-related issues. For now, Holly and her half-brother are smaller than the other elk in the herd. But they still have some growing to do! “We’re very fortunate to grow our herd so visitors to Woodland Park Zoo can learn about natural elk behavior and see how they socialize. After losing our sole male, Goodwyn, last summer, we’re back to a natural grouping with the additio...