Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Buttons celebrates a milestone and reminds us to help wild animals stay wild! Happy birthday, Buttons! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The spring of 2022 marks a big milestone for one of the more well-known members of our elk herd—Buttons. While we don’t know her exact birthday, this sassy girl—who was born in the wild in eastern Washington—is turning 10 years old! Pregnant elk cows tend to have their calves within the same birthing window, which in our region ranges from the end of May through June. So, it is likely that Buttons was born sometime within that span of time in 2012. Why so scruffy, Buttons? In the spring, an elk's winter coat will drop off and molt into a sleek shorter summer coat. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Buttons gained notoriety several years ago in the area between Ellensburg and Cle Elum where residents—believing she was orphaned—began feeding her, petting her and even putting kids on...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by PAWS Wildlife Center Female black bear recovering at PAWS Wildlife Center. Photo credit: PAWS Wildlife Center Sometimes wild animals need a little help. In this case, a particularly big wild animal needed more than a little help. Today, this female American black bear is resting comfortably, healing and recovering at PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood —but a few months ago her very survival was dependent on the cooperation of several partners dedicated to wildlife conservation. In early December, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received a call about a female bear that had been hit by a car in Poulsbo, Washington, east of Seattle. Black bears aren’t often seen in our region at that time of year because they typically den up for the winter months, but they do occasionally wake to move around or change denning sites. It took several days of searching but wildlife officers were finally able to locate and immobi...