Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Andy Antilla, Zookeeper Woodland Park Zoo’s Towan inspired much of the orangutan character, Maurice, in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. For those of us who work with Towan, the oldest male orangutan in North America, we've always known that he's a special guy. Now, people all around the world will see much of his personality come to life on the big screen when “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” hits theaters this month. That’s because Karin Konoval, the actor who plays Maurice the orangutan in the new Planet of the Apes films, studied and drew her inspiration from our big guy. Maurice the orangutan in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox. At 46 years old, Towan and his twin sister Chinta have lived their entire lives at Woodland Park Zoo. They were both hand-raised by humans and show great interest in people, especially the regular visitors that come t

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. You saw him arrive at the zoo in an exclusive behind-the-scenes video , then watched him hanging out in the barn during his standard quarantine. Now that quarantine is over for our newest arrival, Dave the giraffe, we’re giving you an inside look at how his first day out on the savanna went with his new herd mates! Introducing new animals to each other takes a lot of careful planning from zookeepers, and in the case of giraffes, it’s extra complicated. That’s because the giraffes not only live together as a herd, but they also share a mixed species exhibit with zebra, ostrich, gazelle and oryx. Up until now, adult female giraffes Tufani and Olivia, and nearly one-year-old male calf Misawa have been able to see, hear and smell Dave in the barn. But these intros marked the first time they shared space together. Taking it slow, we started introductions between the giraffes in the barn, first by allow

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications There are 96 words in this paragraph. Each one represents an African elephant killed today for its ivory. It’s a grim figure, but there’s hope. Thanks to your support, rangers are on the ground deterring poachers and protecting populations. Now the work must continue at home with you. We need state by state ivory moratoria to close the legal loopholes that conceal black market ivory in the U.S. Take the pledge to let the elected leaders of Washington state know we will not stand for being a loophole. Join the herd to make your voice heard. Take the Pledge To stop the killing of elephants, we must stop the ivory trade. To stop the trade, we must end the demand. I pledge never to buy, sell or trade ivory, and I support a moratorium on ivory products in Washington state. Why does my signature matter? The United States has one of the largest markets for ivory in the world with legal markets providing a front for illegal

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications It’s summer time! The season for lounging in the sand, soaking up the sun and shaking your rattler! Our beautiful female Aruba rattlesnake , Crotalus durissus unicolor, is doing just that at the Day Exhibit. An Aruba's sunset-colored coil. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/WPZ. These peach and rose colored rattlesnakes don’t just shake it for anybody though; this rare rattler is only found on one small Caribbean island, Aruba.  Because the species has such a small range, it is nearly extinct in the wild. The snakes are critically endangered primarily because of habitat loss as well as persecution, especially due to tourism and urban sprawl. These snakes live in vulnerable habitat in a tiny area. Fortunately, the government and people of Aruba understand the importance and value of their own special kind of rattlesnake, and have set aside a large portion of the interior of their island as protected habitat for this rattlesnake and other w

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Like these? Blooming plants at Woodland Park Zoo. Photos by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo and Mat Hayward/Woodland Park Zoo. Then we need these: Photos from top, clockwise: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo; Flickr user jeffreyww under Creative Commons License ; Flickr user leshoward under Creative Commons License .  At Woodland Park Zoo, we’re abuzz, aflutter and atwitter about the big news coming from the White House: the announcement of a new federal strategy for protecting pollinators . With a focus on honeybees and other essential pollinators like native butterflies, birds and bats, the strategy establishes a task force and goals for population restoration, habitat protection and public education to stem the losses from this blooming crisis. The White House makes a case for the economic importance of pollinators, which “ contribute substantially to the economy of the United States and are vital to keeping fruit, nuts, and veg

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson with Rebecca Whitham, Communications Sloth bear mom Tasha and 18-month-old cubs Randhir and Kushali will make their final appearance July 6 before construction begins to rebuild their home. The cubs turned 1 last December and celebrated with piñatas. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The exhibit makeover will mark the second and final phase of our new Bamboo Forest Reserve exhibit, and it’s all possible because of your support ! Thanks to you , we opened phase one of the exhibit in 2013, which features Asian small-clawed otters, a tropical aviary and a nature play area. Over the next year, we’ll complete construction for the final phase , which will bring new homes for the sloth bears and mark the return of tigers to Woodland Park Zoo in May 2015! Remember when the cubs were this small? Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Our three sloth bears will live in an off-view exhibit during the construction, so plan a visit soon to see t

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications When otters play tug-of-war, we all win. Photo by Stan Milkowski/Woodland Park Zoo. In just one year’s time, our four little Asian small-clawed otter boys, Chancellor, Maxwell, Sherman and Thomas, went from being babies to being big brothers ! The pups, named for the Seattle Seahawks Legion of Boom, were born June 11 last year, just in time for Father’s Day. Today we celebrate their first birthday with a look back at what they’ve learned and experienced in their first year. They learned that fish is delicious… Soooooo good! This photo was taken in August 2013 when the pups were two months old. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. …that the Seahawks rule… These champion otters were named for the champion Seahawks' Legion of Boom. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. …that Dad can’t help but be overprotective sometimes… When the pups were first learning to swim outdoors, dad had a habit of not letting the

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The fishmongers toss salmon in front of the grizzly exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The scene: Pike Place Fish Market fishmongers gather in front of Woodland Park Zoo’s famous brown bear exhibit, as grizzly brothers Keema and Denali go into overdrive sniffing out the scent of salmon in the air. The bears catch the scent. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This moment feels so perfectly Seattle. Bear. Woodland Park Zoo. Salmon. Pike Place Fish Market. So Seattle. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Then the toss begins. Tossing a "stunt" salmon. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. If you've seen the famous fish tossing at Pike Place Fish Market, you’ll know the rush of excitement that runs through the crowd as the fishmongers toss what they call a “stunt fish” back and forth. You hold your breath each time to see if they’ll catch it. Unless you’re a grizzly bear. In that ca