Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications For the second year in a row, Asian elephant Chai made her prediction for who will win the Apple Cup. Last year her pick of University of Washington proved accurate when the Huskies won. This year she picked the Washington State University Cougars to win. Do you think her prediction will prove true or will Chai have broken her perfect record of one? The wind and rain this morning didn’t stop a food-seeking Chai from bounding onto the field toward the identical Husky and Cougar treat piles made up of hay, apples, bamboo, football-shaped icepops, papier-mache team helmets and oversized papier-mache apples stuffed with biscuits and more apples. Ignoring the boos from the Husky fans in the crowd, Chai went straight to the Cougar pile first—the action that made her pick of the Cougs official. She munched through much of the Cougar goodies before turning to the Husky pile and snacking on those treats too. Those of us watching tried to f

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Despite the fact that I’m still munching on leftover Halloween candy, I know the holiday season has arrived now that our Enrichment Giving Trees for the animals are going up and our zookeepers’ annual holiday gift auction is coming this Fri., Nov. 18. Holiday Auction If you are looking for an extraordinary gift that you can’t buy online or from a mall, check out Woodland Park Zoo’s Holiday Silent Auction this Friday to bid on a host of cool gifts including behind-the-scenes animal tours. You’ll get to pick from unforgettable experiences like going behind the scenes to watch an elephant bath, taking a photo with a raptor, or meeting an orangutan up close. The silent auction is put on by the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (PS-AAZK) and will take place inside the zoo’s Education Center (near the South Entrance) on Fri., Nov. 18. Guaranteed bidding will be from noon to 2:00 p.m., and the silent auction

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Have you ever wanted to feed a penguin just like our keepers get to do every day? Here’s your chance to feed our tuxedo-clad birds! Our Humboldt penguin feeding opportunity kicked off this month and is now available daily through April 1. Each day from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (or until daily fish supply is depleted), visitors will have the opportunity to add a penguin feeding experience to their zoo visit. For $5, you’ll get to feed the zoo’s charismatic Humboldt penguins a handful of tasty fish and experience these endangered birds hand to beak. You can pre-purchase your feeding opportunity at the West Entrance when you arrive (located at Phinney Ave. N. between N. 55th and N. 56th streets) or head over to the penguin exhibit and purchase the upgraded experience while you are there (cash only when purchasing at the exhibit). We have received wonderful feedback from our visitors who have had the unforgettable experience of f

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Scarves up! Woodland Park Zoo’s animals put their soccer skills to work today as we rallied for the Seattle Sounders FC’s run for the MLS Cup playoffs. The soccer ball kicking exhibition started with Rico, a 4-year-old Sicilian miniature donkey who recently joined the zoo’s Family Farm. Donning a Sounders scarf, Rico skillfully pushed his Sounders soccer ball all around his exhibit using his nose. He used his mouth to get the ball out of the gutter and back onto the playing field. The ref is still out on whether that’s a legal move. Next up was our frisky 2-year-old lion Adia who chased her ball all around the exhibit and even went after it when it splashed into the moat filled with water. It didn’t take long for Adia to crush the ball with her bite and drag it back with her to her rock for safe keeping. Five-year-old snow leopard Tom spent a good 5 minutes first rubbing his fur all over his soccer ball, enticed by the ne

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications We’re getting ready to release more than 700 endangered Oregon spotted frogs into the wild next month. Before we can let the juvenile frogs go, we have to tag, weigh, sex and measure them so that state biologists can identify and track them once they’re released. Not surprisingly, it takes a long time to do all that 700 times! Our zookeepers joined a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist on Monday for the hours-long process of prepping all 700 frogs, with more days of prep still to come. Frog prepping Step one: Break out the ruler and record the frog’s measurements.  Step two: Place the frog in a container on a scale (then cover quickly so it doesn’t jump away!) and take its weight. Step three: Insert identification tag on select frogs. Step four: Note the sex of the frog and make sure all data is recorded. These frogs are just weeks away from being released, but they started their lives here

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 Keema and Denali stop to sniff each other after rolling around in coffee grounds. Keema and Denali may not have known the world was watching, but they still put on quite the show Wednesday when we broadcast a special bear enrichment session through our newly relaunched Bear Cam . The 17-year-old grizzly bear brothers received beehive and hornet’s nest-shaped piñatas Wednesday. While it took staff almost a week to put the piñatas together, it took the bears just minutes to destroy them! Inside the beehive piñatas, the bears found some of their favorite fruit treats including honeydew, apples, grapes and pears. The hornet’s nest contained a pocket of honey that the bears lapped up. Coffee grounds : bears :: catnip : cats Scattered around the space were coffee grounds from Caffé Vita . Why coffee grounds? Since the bears have a strong sense of smell, such a pungent treat is extremely attractive and stimulating to them. The b

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications As we celebrated 20 years of native turtle conservation last week, it was only appropriate that we release 20 western pond turtles into protected habitat in our continued efforts to rebuild a stable population of this state endangered species. The 20 turtles were collected from the wild as eggs last year, hatched and head started at Woodland Park Zoo to improve their chance of survival in the wild. Once the turtles reach a suitable size of about 2 ounces—large enough to escape the mouths of bullfrogs and large-mouth bass—they are returned to their homes and closely monitored by biologists. Before they could be released, the turtles underwent final prep work that included measuring, weighing and notching shells (shown above) for identification. The largest of the 10-month-old turtles were equipped with tiny radio transmitters glued to their shells so biologists can learn more about post-release dispersal, habitat use during active and

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Need a little more excitement in your afternoon? How about 1,350 pounds more excitement? Broadcasting live with Ustream Woodland Park Zoo's popular Bear Cam is back online and streaming live via Ustream . The cam, which has been gone for more than a year, is back by popular demand and bringing you incredible views into the zoo's grizzly bear exhibit in the award-winning Northern Trail. To celebrate the return of the cam, we're giving the bears a special enrichment treat this week: piñatas filled with coffee grounds (generously donated by our friends at Caffé Vita). Tune in on Wednesday, August 3 at 11:15 a.m. (PST) to watch the bears enjoy their stimulating enrichment treat. On a typical day, Woodland Park Zoo’s 17-year-old grizzly bear brothers Keema and Denali can be seen foraging for food, fishing for live trout, and exploring the stimulating sights and smells in the zoo’s award-winning Northern Trail e