Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications PNG YUS coffee is now available at Woodland Park Zoo ZooStores and Caffe Vita locations. Seattle is about to taste the first ever coffee made available in the U.S. from a remote part of Papua New Guinea—the Yopno Uruwa Som region of the Huon Peninsula—home to the endangered Matschie’s tree kangaroo, the little known animal that inspired this whole effort. So how did we get from ‘roo to brew?  Tree kangaroo joey Yawan in his mother's pouch, behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. To protect an endangered species like the tree kangaroo, you need to protect its habitat. Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program helped make that possible in 2009 when we worked with Papua New Guinea villagers in the remote Huon Peninsula to protect 180,000 acres of their land in the nation’s first Conservation

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Big news: Your votes have made a difference for wildlife! We are proud to announce our conservation partner , Snow Leopard Trust, has won 1st place in the BBC World Challenge ! Thanks to your votes, they will receive $20,000 to help protect wild snow leopards and will have their story told on the BBC's international news outlets to spread the word about big cat conservation. Congrats to the Snow Leopard Trust and our many, many thanks to you all for voting throughout October and November and helping them win this incredible global honor. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Brad Rutherford, Snow Leopard Trust – a Woodland Park Zoo conservation partner Dear friends of Woodland Park Zoo and wildlife— One of our conservation partners , Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, has an opportunity to win $20,000 for conservation as a finalist in the BBC World Challenge. Your vote can help them win this incredible prize that will protect endangered snow leopards and improve the lives of the people who share snow leopard habitat throughout Central Asia. Here’s Snow Leopard Trust’s executive director, Brad Rutherford, with the story behind the Trust and this exciting opportunity for zoo fans to vote and make a difference… - Woodland Park Zoo Across the vast mountains of Mongolia, snow leopards have been seen as an enemy by herders for generations. However, this all started to change in 1998 when two researchers sat down with herders and really tried to understand their challenges. While drinking tea and listening, it became clear that as long as

Posted by: Hilary Aten, Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (Woodland Park Zoo  Partner for Wildlife ) A home in the remote forests of Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. In the remote forests of Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula, we’re brewing up something exciting with subsistence farmers—the first coffee you’ll ever have the chance to drink from this region. Freshly picked coffee cherries. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. More than a tasty drink, this coffee is on a mission: to create a better life for the villagers of Papua New Guinea who have pledged their own land to conservation. What’s the story behind this project? Map of Papua New Guinea showing the YUS Conservation Area on the Huon Peninsula. Back in 2009, the indigenous clans of the Huon Peninsula worked with Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) to make history , pledging parcels of their own land to permanent

Posted by: Dr. Fred Koontz, Vice President of Field Conservation When you visit the zoo, you help us save wildlife. Now that conservation connection will be even more prominent when you visit with the launch of our new Quarters for Conservation program kicking off today. On your next visit to the zoo, you’ll find yourself with the power to vote for which zoo conservation program you’d like to support. Whether you are a member or just visiting for the day, you’ll receive a special token when you check in at the zoo—a token that gives you the power to vote and make a difference. Your token represents 25 cents from your zoo admission that will go directly to the zoo’s field conservation fund . We partner with 37 conservation programs in 50 countries around the world—from repopulating endangered turtles in our own Northwest backyard, to protecting tree kangaroo habitat in Papua New Guinea, and managing human-elephant conflict in Africa. With your token, you’ll

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Our Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey is growing up fast, so we wanted to share some new photos and video and fill you all in on how it is getting along in its behind-the-scenes exhibit. Now eight months old, the joey has begun to leave its mother’s pouch for short bursts, doing a little exploring and then retreating back to the pouch for naps. We do not know the sex of the joey yet so it does not yet have a name. The joey is mostly eating leaves and munches on greens including kale, romaine and celery. Its mother, Elanna, is not so great at sharing, so the joey has learned to go after the food it wants for itself. Elanna and joey are in a behind the scenes exhibit to give them the quiet and comfort this sensitive species requires, especially since Elanna is a first time mother. We’re using cameras and students are assisting us with observations so we can study the interactions between the mother and joey and keep a close

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Take a sip for a cause. Pick up a bag of the all new Zoo Special Reserve coffee at any Seattle Caffé Vita store and your daily cup of home-brewed joe will support Woodland Park Zoo and our work in animal care , conservation and education . That’s because for every bag of Zoo Special Reserve purchased at Caffé Vita, $1 will be donated to Woodland Park Zoo! The Zoo Special Reserve coffee is well-balanced with aromas of cocoa and hazelnuts. It has a smooth, clean and sweet flavor. But more than being good to drink, it’s also good to the planet. The eco-friendly coffee originates from a farm in the Santa Rosa district of Guatemala and is shade-grown, organic and Rainforest Alliance-certified. The farmers who grow this coffee promote biodiversity by setting aside over forty percent of their land as a nature reserve, which protects the habitats of native tropical animals and birds such as gray foxes, armadillos, anteaters, parrots and butte

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Mayor McGinn proclaimed March 7-11 “Woodland Park Zoo Field Conservation Week.” The proclamation ushers in a huge week for Woodland Park Zoo’s growing role in conservation as we host an international conservation conference and summit this week. Nearly 250 zoo and aquarium conservationists, field biologists, wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations from 23 different countries and disciplines will come together for the biennial Zoos and Aquariums Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference. The conference brings together some of the most successful field conservationists to share knowledge and findings, build stronger conservation bridges between wildlife and local communities, and establish direct links to zoos, aquariums and their stakeholders. The need for conservation solutions is more urgent than ever. On a global scale, the planet’s precious wildlife is facing the worst extinction crisis since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million y