Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Wendy Gardner, Zookeeper Photos by Wendy Gardner/Woodland Park Zoo Who weighs nearly 100 pounds, belongs to a family of mammals (Macropodidae) whose name means “big feet,” has a long, muscular tail that helps with balance, turning and support while resting, and cannot walk backwards? Harry gets a food reward for cooperating with his treatment. That would be Harry, our male wallaroo who lives in the zoo’s Australasia zone. Harry came to Woodland Park Zoo in October 2008 as 2.5-year-old sub-adult, a term we use to describe juveniles that have not yet reached sexual maturity. In December of 2008 he weighed about 62 lb (28 kg), but as of June 2013, the now adult wallaroo weighs just shy of 100 lb (44 kg). That’s a good weight for him, but that size and strength means we do not want to have to hand catch him if he were to ever need medical attention, both for our own safety and to prevent stress for him. We decided using operant conditioning to get Harry not o...

Posted by: Wendy Gardner, Zookeeper, Grizzly Bear Outreach Project Field Assistant, Sky Valley Bear Smart Project Leader I have a passion for educating people on ways to prevent human-bear conflicts so that bears do not die needlessly because of human caused problems. Since 2006, I have worked as a field assistant for the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project (GBOP), a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife . In 2010, I had the privilege to expand my work in the field, joining with Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Enforcement Officer Nicholas Jorg in the Skykomish Valley to establish the Sky Valley Bear Smart Project, focusing on educating the public in the Gold Bar and Sultan communities on how to be Bear Smart . One of the most rewarding and thrilling experiences in my new position came last summer when I helped Officer Jorg handle a female bear that was roaming campgrounds in Monroe. The bear was drawn in by the temptation of food left out by a young group of campers. (Exampl...