Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Robert Long, Senior Conservation Scientist and Director, Living Northwest Program, Wildlife Conservation In a last-minute announcement, the Trump administration is proposing to eliminate protections for 3.4 million acres of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl across the Pacific Northwest and California. This decision, if enacted, could push this iconic Pacific Northwest species to extinction. Our forests are home to myriad species and natural communities, and essential to humans for things such as clean water, clean air and the very wilderness we treasure. Large blocks of connected, protected resilient forests are, indeed, the best insurance we have against massive losses of wildlife species and the effects of climate change. Photo of spotted owl by Frank D. Lospalluto/Flickr via Audubon. This decision is counter to the best available science. A very recent review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concluded that Northern spotted owls are in critical need of p

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications On the left is one of our snowy owlets a few weeks after hatching. On the right, one of those same youngsters now. Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren (L) and Susan Burchardt (R)/Woodland Park Zoo  Oh what a difference four months can make! This past July, we welcomed a pair of snowy owl chicks to our zoo family—the first hatching of this species at Woodland Park Zoo in nine years. And these wide-eyed youngsters—a brother and sister—are already the same size as their parents!  Male snowy owl, Dusty, is the father of our four-month old pair. Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo Female, June, is a fierce first-time mama! Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo First-time parents, mom June and dad Dusty were paired under the Snowy Owl Species Survival Plan, which is a cooperative, conservation breeding program to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population for at-risk species. They live with their brood in the Northern Trail habitat where th

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo This turtle-y awesome class of 2020 gets a head start on life! Washington state’s population of endangered western pond turtles will be bolstered when Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Woodland Park Zoo release close to 29 turtles next month to the wild at local protected sites. The turtles are a part of the collaborative Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project , a head start program initiated in 1991. It is Washington state’s longest-running species reintroduction project. Juvenile western pond turtles at Woodland Park Zoo are prepared to be released to the wild in August.  Each spring, WDFW biologists go in the field to attach transmitters to adult female western pond turtles and monitor them every few hours during the nesting season to locate nesting sites; the nests are protected from predators with wire exclosure cages. A portion of the eggs are col

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Flashback to last year: Mama Valkyrie is surrounded by her four pups, Tucker, Nooksack, Piper and Tahu. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We’re coming up on a milestone for our four youngest North American River otters. Almost one year ago, on March 16th 2019, our resident female, Valkyrie, gave birth to her very first litter of pups—two males and two females. Tucker, Nooksack, Piper and Tahu are nearly full grown now and almost ready for their next adventure. Happy birthday, baby! Throwback to one year ago when the N. American River otter pups had their first wellness exam. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo  In nature, young North American river otters might stay with their mother for up to a year while learning to swim, dive and hunt for fish. So it’s no surprise that by 10 months, boys Tucker and Nooksack were ready to separate from mom. Soon, these youngsters will be moving on to other accredited

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Mountain goats Daisy and mom Bluebelle shortly after Daisy's birth in June 2018. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo  We've spent a year watching this kid grow up, and now it's time for her and her mother to move to a new home! Last summer, Woodland Park Zoo hailed the birth of a mountain goat, the first one born at the zoo in 23 years. The female goat, Daisy, sparked excitement and her cuteness made us gave us all the feels. Now it's time for Daisy and mom Bluebelle to move to a new home. Mother and daughter will be heading to Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, N.D., where they will join a male mountain goat in a newly remodeled exhibit—but you can still come see them here through September 30.  Their departure will leave two mountain goats remaining at the zoo: Atlin, half-sister of Bluebelle, and Zeus, a young male.  Daisy (left) here with Zeus (right) in January 2019. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo

Posted by: Peter Zahler, Vice President of Conservation Initiatives The last time I wrote, I discussed the importance of connectivity to conservation , both right here in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. I wanted to write more because of something that was said during a recent meeting I attended with a range of stakeholders from around the region. The meeting’s focus was on helping to co-design an upcoming zoo exhibit about our own Living Northwest. Washington's wolf populations are still recovering—coming back from extinction in the state. of  Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo We were discussing the strategic framework for our Living Northwest Program ’s field work, where we have multiple projects aimed at recovery of species such as wolves and wolverines (as they return to Washington after decades of having been driven to extinction in the state), and also aimed at improving coexistence between people and wildlife once the wildlife has recovered (or as peop

Posted by: Peter Zahler, Vice President of Conservation Initiatives “Connectivity: the state or extent of being connected or interconnected.” An aerial view of the Cascade mountains offers breathtaking glimpses of forested habitat. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The definition of connectivity feels incredibly simple, yet there’s something strangely insightful in there. Small children immediately understand the idea—putting together puzzles, linking construction toys to make bigger toys, drawing lines to bring different images into contact with one another. That simple concept of connectivity extends into adulthood, as we begin to connect ideas to one another—which is when deep understanding and inspired solutions often occur. Connectivity in its simplest form is what first really attracted me to the natural world. I was, and continue to be, spellbound by how the natural world is interconnected. Ecosystems immediately struck me as enormously complicated jigsa

Posted by Jim Watson, Wildlife Research Scientist, Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Jim Watson is a friend of the zoo and works with our Living Northwest Conservation Program's Raptor Ecology of the Shrub-Steppe Project. Jim has partnered with us for years and we are excited to share his most recent adventures in raptor research: When Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Woodland Park zoo started our cooperative raptor studies in the shrub-steppe of the Pacific Northwest 20 years ago we probably didn’t envision we were embarking on such a long-term journey. This productive relationship has delved into important projects including migration studies of ferruginous hawks and golden eagles, and how human activities like construction of wind turbines and lead contamination in prey are affecting these iconic raptors. We took advantage of a recent opportunity to look in a little different direction for our cooperative studies within the shrub-steppe raptor commu

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications An image of a coyote is captured on a motion sensor remote camera through the Seattle Urban Carnivore Project. Photo courtesy of Seattle Urban Carnivore Project / Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle University A healthy ecosystem is one in which plants and animals interact in a dynamic balance. They work together in a way that creates a sustainable and interconnected support structure for the whole environment. All different kinds of creatures, ranging from bees to bobcats, have an important role to play. But some of them—and the behaviors they exhibit—can be misunderstood or even feared.  WHAT IS A CARNIVORE? Most people think the word “carnivore” refers to any animal that eats meat as a primary component of its diet. This is accurate, but the word “carnivore" can also refer to specific mammals that are classified in the order Carnivora . This scientific grouping is not based on diet, but is instead related to a way of classify