Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Peter Zahler will join Woodland Park Zoo as Vice President of Conservation Initiatives in March 2018. As Peter Zahler asks in his article, Super Rare Super Squirrel , “What glides down mountains at night, sleeps in cliff caves during the day, eats primarily pine needles, and was thought to be extinct for 70 years? And, at four feet in length, is the biggest gliding mammal in the world?” Hint: it’s the same species that Peter rediscovered in Pakistan in 1994—the woolly flying squirrel (which was then thought to be extinct). Peter is no stranger to enigmatic species having led conservation projects from Alaska, Arizona, Venezuela and Peru, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji to the temperate mountains and vast grasslands of Central Asia. He has studied animals like the Asiatic cheetah, snow leopard, markhor, hoatzin, bristle-thighed curlew, Mongolian gazelle and grasshopper mouse. Peter’s 30 years of professional experience in cons

Posted by Kizz Prusia, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo There really is no place like home. Home is where we rest, relax and where we go to recharge. For our residents—the 1,200 animals who call Woodland Park Zoo home— home is where they snooze, play, explore and snack. Seeing Woodland Park Zoo as a home is crucial to how we care for our animals—and just like your home—the zoo needs improvement from time to time to stay in top condition. We are extremely grateful to Seattle voters for passing the Seattle Park District ballot measure nearly three years ago. The funding provided by the Park District—about $1.8 million a year—goes toward maintaining our dens, trees, caves, hot rocks, roofs and watering holes. With this funding, we are able to update old parts of the zoo and keep new parts well-maintained. We consider this “home improvement” to also be preventative maintenance. We’d like to highlight a couple of important projects we hav

Posted by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Communications Photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo Misho gets a pre-operation inspection from veterinary staff. Say hello to Misho the chuckwalla, a member of our Woodland Park Zoo family since he arrived here in 2000. Chuckwallas are lizards native to the southwestern US and northern Mexico, typically measuring a little over one foot in length. Like many plant-eating reptiles, they enjoy basking on rocks in the sun and eating leafy greens. At 25 years old, Misho is certainly getting up there in age. And recently keepers noticed he hadn’t been feeling all that well. Misho at the zoo's animal hospital.  Reptiles like Misho certainly aren’t known for being the most emotive creatures, and he can’t exactly tell keepers what’s wrong. So how can keepers tell when a lizard isn’t feeling himself? “It has to do a lot with posture and behavior,” explains Dr. Kelly Helmick, Woodland Park Zoo veterinarian. Healthy and happ