Woodland Park Zoo Blog

The contest has ended, the names researched and checked and on April 4, the baby western lowland gorilla female born last October will finally receive her new name which is...ah, of course you'll have to wait! In association with Ivar's and Kidd Valley restaurants, we asked the community to find an appropriate name for the baby. We generally try to use names from the languages found in their original range countries so contest participants were able to choose from Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa or Swahili. We had lots of great suggestions until it was narrowed down to just seven and then the winner randomly drawn from those. The winner will be announced during the Primetime Primates day which takes place during our inaugural EcoWeekend event. At 10:00 a.m. on April 4, representatives from the zoo and Ivar's CEO will announce the name and zoo visitors will be treated to delicious "babycake" cupcakes from Cupcake Royale (while supplies last, of course!). Meanwhile, here are a

The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program is based at Woodland Park Zoo and in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island of New Guinea located north of Australia. This remarkable island is just now being revealed to science with a variety of new species being discovered and identified. Kangaroos in the trees may seem strange to many people; the common image of a kangaroo is the iconic image of the variety found in Australia. But tree kangaroos, of which there are about 10 species, inhabit the tall forest canopies of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia. Looking a bit like teddy bears with long tails, these elusive marsupials were becoming rare in PNG due to hunting and loss of habitat from logging. The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) has been successful because it has been directly involving the indigenous land owners in decisions about how and what land can be used. Also, the program helps fund health care and nutrition projects for the villagers. They i

When the new Chilean flamingo exhibit opens on May 24 at the zoo, you’ll see the gorgeous flock of flamingos right away, but there are also interesting natural stories built into the exhibit for you to discover over time. Ripples and clam holes in the ground you stand on hint at the coastal mudflat habitat where the flamingos overwinter. You might notice tiny footprints leaving the very real-looking flamingo “nest” your 5-yr-old is playing on. Your 8-yr-old will definitely find the model of the flamingo head that shows the special filtering structures they use to sieve brine shrimp out of the water for dinner. Right now members of our exhibits team are busy building these fascinating details into the exhibit for you to discover this May. Here you see Stephanie Snyder working on the 3-D model of a flamingo head. After carving the model in clay, she’ll cast it in a very durable material to hold up to the curiosity of many children—and adults!—this summer. (Photos by Ryan Hawk)

The last of our Humboldt penguins will be heading out to other zoos by March 24 as we begin preparations to build a brand new penguin exhibit. The new exhibit will be located on the footprint of the old one, originally built in 1947 (but lots of modifications over the years). BUT, the new exhibit will be much more interactive with lots of fun features for kids of different age levels to teach about life for Humboldt penguins in Peru's Punta San Juan, one of the last refuges for these endangered birds. Another great feature about the exhibit is that is will be much more environmentally friendly than the current exhibit, saving thousands of gallons of water a year through the utilization of rainwater collection and special filtration systems that allow for safe re-use of water in the exhibit. There will also be more areas and levels of viewing for kids and folks in wheelchairs. There will even be a blowhole that mimic those found on the coast of Punta San Juan! Groundbreaking won'

We were fortunate to recently have Thomas Breuer join us to discuss his project focusing on the use of "bais" --the swampy clearings in the forest---located in central Africa. These bais are havens for native wildlife including forest elephants and western lowland gorillas. Much of Breuer's work is tracking the demographics of the gorilla groups that come to feed on the rich plant life in the bais. During his six years, they have identified and observed several groups and individually identified gorillas, tracking their individual life histories. In the process, they've learned a tremendous amount about gorilla behavior and helped conserve the populations utilizing the bais. As part of his visit, we taped a segment with Breuer as he talks about the project. Woodland Park Zoo is one of the proud funders of this project. Take a look at the video in the Video Bar on the right. Also included is an excellent piece by National Geographic showing recent discoveries about gor

Twin orangutans Towan and Chinta seemed to have ball celebrating their 40th birthday. Nice weather brought out hundreds of people to the zoo to help in the event. While the orangutans received wrapped gifts filled with treats and "orang cupcakes", visitors received tasty cupcakes from Cupcake Royale. Zookeepers shared stories about the orangutans, reminiscing about their antics over the past four decades. In this photo, male orangutan Towan tore up a gift-wrapped package to discover his treats inside. (Photo by Dennis Dow)

If it weren't thrilling enough when our latest western lowland gorilla was born in October, now the entire community gets the opportunity to help name her! The now 4-month-old gorilla has been through quite a bit, when a congenital defect called for surgery to correct. Thanks to a team of physicians from Seattle's Children Hospital, she's now right as rain and ready for a name. In cooperation with Ivar's and Kidd Valley restaurants, we're looking for a name that derives from the languages of their origin countries. In this case, names of Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and Swahili languages are the suggested sources. It's not too hard to discover appropriate names: simply go online and type in "Yoruba language", etc., in any search engine, or visit your local library and find dictionaries for those languages. Then visit any Western Washington Ivar's or Kidd Valley restaurant to pick up and fill in an entry form. The contest runs from March 2 through March 23.

Kids 3-12 who "go froggy" get in free today at the zoo to celebrate the Year of the Frog, a campaign to alert people to the plight of amphibians around the world. Just come dressed in green and you get in free and get the chance to participate in a number of frog-related activities. The more than 6,000 species of frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders are currently in the midst of a crisis where their numbers are drastically falling due to the infestation of the chytrid fungus as well as tremendous habitat loss. Woodland Park Zoo is joining with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Amphibian Ark and hundreds of zoos and aquariums around the world to help save amphibians from extinction. Currently we are working with several regional partners to help create a recovery plan for the endangered Oregon spotted frog which has declined over 90% of its historic range. Find out how you can help frogs and other amphibians, too. Visit http:

Turning 40 isn't going to be traumatic for Towan and his twin sister Chinta on Saturday. The party starts at 11:00 a.m. and runs to 12:30 p.m. The orangutans will receive wrapped "presents" that they enjoy tearing into, special treats and our human guests will receive tasty gourmet cupcakes courtesy of Cupcake Royale (while supplies last!) and everyone is welcome to enter into a free raffle to win one of Towan's increasingly famous works of art (see below to the entry that offered two of his paintings for auction on eBay). Our February entry showed Towan and Chinta as infants, so we thought it only fair that we post photos of them now (That's Towan , the male on the left, and Chinta , the female, on the right). They would also like to say hello to Hannah, Mark and Conni up in Vancouver, B.C. Hannah was looking forward to coming to the birthday party, but unfortunately she's not feeling well so the orangutans hope this finds her on the mend!

Turning 40 is a milestone for humans…and for non-human animals too! Join Woodland Park Zoo at a birthday party for its twin orangutans turning the big 4-0. Towan (toe-WAHN) and Chinta (CHEEN-tuh), brother and sister, respectively, will open gift-wrapped presents with their favorite treats and indulge in special “orangutan” birthday cupcakes. All five of the zoo’s orangutans will join in the celebration. Birthday festivities include: complimentary cupcakes for visitors (while supplies last), an opportunity to meet the keepers and hear about the day-to-day quality care provided for the great apes, a photo collage of the twins, an orangutan discovery box with fascinating facts and items, and a free raffle for a commemorative art piece hand painted by orangutan Towan. The birthday party is free with zoo admission. Born at Woodland Park Zoo in February 1968, the twin orangutans gained instant national celebrity status as the first-known twin orangutans born in a zoo. Photos of the pair in d

39-year-old orangutan Towan enjoys painting. He's become a "master" artist it seems and two of his paintings are now being offered in an eBay auction in order to raise funds for the 2009 International Congress of Zookeepers/American Association of Zoo Keepers conference that will be held at Woodland Park Zoo in September 2009. Painting is one of the activities that several animals at the zoo take part in that helps stimulate them physically and mentally. The orangutans are offered non-toxic paints and canvas in order to provide them an activity, much like kids in pre-school will enjoy dabbling in the "fine arts" with finger painting. The ICZ/AAZK conference is a great way that zookeepers from around the world get to meet, interact, and network new ideas for animal husbandry, enrichment, and other topics related to improving and increasing the quality and depth of care they give to the animals. Bidding on Towan's two original paintings goes until February 8,

The baby gorilla is doing very well and the doctors from Children's Hospital were extremely pleased at how well the surgical incision is healing. She's using her arms and legs normally and is picking up weight. She and mother Amanda are out in the exhibit intermittently most days that it's warmer (anything under 45 degrees and they stay in where it's toasty!). Photo by Ryan Hawk

The baby is doing very well and was reunited with her mother shortly after she recovered from the anesthetic. The doctors say that her prognosis for a full recovery is very good and mother Amanda readily accepted her back. One recent comment asked about vitamin supplements for the animals. All animals at the zoo have diets that are constantly examined not only by our staff, but animal nutritionists who are tops in the field. Each diet is formulated not only for that particular species, but the needs of the individual animal. Although each diet is nutritionally complete, some of the animals are given supplements, particularly in cases such as pregnancy or in circumstances where they made need additional care. We've posted a video of the day of the baby gorilla's surgery at the top right of this blog. Special note: although we've tried not too make it too graphic, there are a couple seconds that may be too much for sensitive folks!

The western lowland gorilla born at the zoo on October 20, 2007, got some "out of this world" help for a congenital spine abnormality discovered a couple weeks after her birth. Woodland Park Zoo's crack Animal Health Care Team first examined the baby and ran tests to determine the diagnosis. Once it was found that the problem was a congenital problem that could be rectified with surgery, a team of neurosurgeons and a neonatologist from Seattle's Children's Hospital volunteered their services, along with special state-of-the-art neurospinal instruments donated by New Jersey-based Integra LifeSciences Corporation. Dr. Rob Liddell of Radiology Consultants Washington provided consultation and MRI diagnostics in December. Neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Ellenbogen called it a "Star Trek-type experience" for he and his team which included Dr. Craig Jackson, Dr. Sam Browd from Children's. "(We) were proud to help with an endangered species such as the baby g

Giraffes are one of the most popular animals at the zoo, being recognizable to the youngest of kids. During summer 2007 we offered, for the first time, the opportunity for people to feed the giraffes up close. Using their favorite leafy branches, this gave a chance for people to view these magnificent animals "face to tongue" as it were as one of their most notable features is their nearly two-foot long purplish-black tongues. It really provides a lot of impact to see them this close. Something no TV program could ever hope to match! We hope to resume giraffe feedings in May 2008. Thanks to Chris Zempel for sending this great photo of two of our giraffes.

Hadiah the Sumatran tiger turned 1 year old today and was treated to a special holiday-themed treat: a paper-mache "reindeer." To attract her, keeper rubbed musk, a favorite sensory treat, to the outside of the paper critter and she rolled, ripped and thoroughly enjoyed her day, even though she didn't know it was her birthday! As a special treat for you, we've created a Hadiah screensaver for your computer. Simply click on the photo, download and follow your computer's settings to load as your screensaver. Enjoy!

The bushbabies born on November 1 received an exam today to determine their overall health and get weights. They are growing and putting on pounds (well, grams actually!) and appear to be males (it's a little tough to tell as this age!). Mama bushbaby is a good mother, is very protective but allowed the Animal Health staff to quickly examine the little fellows without too m uch fuss. Although they may resemble something from "Gremlins", they are quite gentle. Photos by Ryan Hawk.

Our female sloth bear has pulled up stakes and is headed to Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo as part of the Species Survival Plan ( SSP ) breeding program. Khali was the mother of two male cubs born here nearly three years ago. SSP programs make recommendations for the breeding of endangered species in zoos in order to maintain genetically healthy and diverse zoo populations. At National Zoo she will be introduced to a new male and hopefully will produce more cubs in this species of bear hailing from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka . These unusual bears are known for their long, bushy coats, white chest crescent and their incredibly long tongues which they use for slurping up insects and honey from the crevasses of logs. If you're in D.C., stop by the National Zoo to see their new sloth bear exhibit and to visit Khali . Photo by Dale Unruh

The Seattle Times published a very informative article last Sunday (November 25) about "animal senior citizens" here at the zoo. Most people don't realize that many animals in zoos are geriatric, far outliving the "average" lifespan that they would in the wild. This is due to many factors including the simple fact they do not have predators, but also due to the advance veterinary medicine practiced in zoos. Older animals are still prone to many of the same things that humans are afflicted with: arthritis, cancers, et al, but with wildlife medicine constantly changing and evolving, they are leading fuller, active lives. Veterinary medicine practiced in zoos also often leads to advances in procedures, treatments and medicines that are used to help animals in the wild. Check out the article and learn more about geriatric animal care: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=zoo25&date=20071125&query=zoo

The animals at the zoo get the opportunity to celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with the Turkey Toss begin held this coming Saturday, November 17. Carnivorous critters will receive turkeys--some whole, others get choice bits--are a part of the zookeepers’ ongoing efforts to help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally and physically stimulated and provide added enjoyment for zoo visitors. A full schedule of each animal to receive turkey treats will be posted at zoo gates. Photo by Ryan Hawk.