Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Watch out, Seattle: Cupid’s been hitting the mark on Phinney Ridge for over 100 years! This Valentine’s Day we've got the smitten kittens and the lovey dovies to inspire you... Affectional bonding between animals is also known as pair bonding. Sociobiology circles use this term to differentiate from “love,” a very human term. Pair bonding is a strong affinity between animals that are lifelong mates, temporary partners or can just refer to strong teamwork. Animals have their own unique ways to bond and show affection. Here is a look at some of the animal bonding pairs at the zoo and a thing or two you can learn from these animal sweethearts: African dwarf crocodiles: Keep smiling This toothy pair has been together since 1973! What’s the secret to their lasting relationship? Lots of crocodile smiles; sharing snacks (mice, rats, chicks and quail); and a love language all their own.  The male lets out a really low growl, typ

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor and Gigi Allianic, Communications We are 12. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. The Mini Legion of Boom—Asian small-clawed otters Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor and Maxwell, huddled to raise the 12 Flag in their exhibit today. Video: Otters raise the 12 Flag for Seahawks Super Bowl Rally. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Sherman took the lead and set the flag waving for Seattle Seahawks fans as we rally for Super Bowl XLIX. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Then the otters got down to business for a little scrimmage, showing off their vertical and secondary defense. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Bring on the boom! Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. The Mini Legion of Boom, four otter brothers born at the zoo in 2013, were named after the Legion of Boom as a tribute to the Seahawks explosive secondary. The otter brothers live with their parents and four younger siblings. Ph

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Today Reps. Pettigrew (D), Buys (R) and Fitzgibbon (D) introduced bipartisan House Bill 1131 to put an end to illegal elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn trade in Washington state. In addition to federal law, state laws are needed to close loopholes that allow the black market to go unchecked. Which one is more precious? You got us this far! More than 7,000 Woodland Park Zoo and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium supporters joined together to raise our voices on this issue. Legislators are now listening. Let’s be heard! TAKE ACTION It’s time to use your voice once again! Leave a public comment on the Washington State Legislature website in SUPPORT of HB 1131.  You can use the following talking points in your comment: As your constituent, I am writing in support of Woodland Park Zoo’s and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s 96 Elephants campaign and ask you to support WA State HB 1131 to end the sale of illegal elephant ivory and rhin

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor We call them cute, we call them precious, and now we want to call the lion cubs by the names you help pick! Vote now and you’ll also have the chance to enter to win a random drawing for a ZooParent lion cub adoption. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The one name with the most votes will automatically be selected, and then it gets interesting! We’ll take the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most popular names and leave it to mom Adia and dad Xerxes to finish the job. On Thurs., Jan. 29, we’ll present the parents with enrichment choices, each associated with a name, and the two they touch first will be the names they select. We’ll announce all the final name selections and share photos here! Cast your #namethelions vote for your top three preferred names. The name choices are derived from languages that reflect parts of the South African lion’s native range. For inspiration, here’s the scoop on our triplets: Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Posted by: Susan Fisher, Animal Management Woodland Park Zoo is deeply committed to providing excellent day-to-day care for our animals. In our efforts to continually raise the bar in animal welfare, WPZ has developed a robust and ever-evolving behavioral husbandry program. Recently, we were fortunate to bring nationally-recognized behavioral husbandry expert Marty MacPhee to Seattle to lead workshops and one-on-one sessions with our animal care and education staff. Marty has helped develop programs for Brookfield Zoo and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She also helped design and taught the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) courses “Animal Training Applications in Zoos and Aquariums” and “Managing Animal Enrichment and Training Programs.” Many of our zookeepers and animal managers have already had the opportunity to complete these courses with more to enroll in the years to come. Marty MacPhee meets Marty the porcupine. Photo by Deanna Ramirez/Woodland Park Zoo. In fact, som

For what do we give thanks during the holidays at Woodland Park Zoo? FOOD : We love a filling meal and our animals do too! Did you know that the zoo goes through more than 15,600 pounds of food each year to feed over 300 species of animals? FAMILY : You are our family, along with more than 1,000 animals, 1,000 volunteers, 3,000 donors, 43,000 member households and 400 staff.   GIVING : Giving feels good, as does giving thanks.    Will you join us in sharing these simple ideals this Giving Tuesday by helping us raise $30,000 today? If you make a gift today , a generous group of donors will match it dollar for dollar (up to $15,000), doubling your impact! We give thanks for every contribution, of any size. Your gift will help provide vitamin-packed meals and tasty treats this winter! As but a few examples: $15 could feed red panda Steller biscuits, bamboo and fruit $25 could feed gray wolf Doba whole chicken and rabbit $40 could feed snow leopard Helen chicke

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo is “Ready to Rave” for the Seattle Sounders FC facing Dallas in the final leg of the Western Conference semifinals. We recruited the grizzly bears and Asian small-clawed otters to join us in rallying for the Sounders today, and, well, they had a ball! (Get it?) Photo by Stan Milkowski/Woodland Park Zoo. Playing by their own rule book, the otters used their nimble hands to dribble the ball around the exhibit. Then the family of 10 all joined in on the fun of destroying the ball together! Photo by Stan Milkowski/Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Keepers also tossed a soccer ball to each of the grizzly bears, brothers Keema and Denali. It only takes one grizzly bite to deflate a soccer ball! Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. OK, there’s not much

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications One of more than 500 Oregon spotted frogs reared at Woodland Park Zoo that were released into the wild last week. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Precious frog . That's the meaning of  Rana pretiosa , the scientific name for the Oregon spotted frog, and a fitting one for a disappearing native. But there's good news to celebrate: more than 500 Oregon spotted frogs reared at Woodland Park Zoo were released last week into marshy wetlands at a protected site in Pierce County. These precious frogs will help rebuild the wild population in their native Northwest. Dr. Jennifer Pramuk, Woodland Park Zoo curator, packing frogs for an early morning release. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. The frogs were collected from wetlands as eggs and placed at the zoo for hatching and rearing for several months in a predator-free home as they transformed from tadpole to juveniles. This head start increases the

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo At just about two weeks old, a typical day for our triplet lion cubs includes filling their bellies with mom’s milk and figuring out how to get their limbs to cooperate with their will to explore. The boys have doubled their birth weight, now weighing between 6.7 and 7.9 pounds. Looks like we’ve got one milk hog in the litter, but don’t worry—all are within a healthy weight range. To make it easier for keepers to tell the cubs apart at a quick glance, each boy has been shaved in a unique spot. When they are all squirming around mom, wrestling for a cuddle or a spot to nurse, sometimes a quick glance is all you get! Video: Lion Triplets Grooming Mom Adia and the cubs are spending quality time together in a behind-the-scenes nursing den where they can have quiet and minimal disturbance. Keepers watch them via an internal video monitor to keep an eye on the family. So far, we only h

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The vets got a first look at the cubs on Friday. Photo by Dr. Darin Collins.  The pride of Woodland Park Zoo just got a little bigger! Video: Lion cub triplets first few hours Three African lions were born yesterday on Oct. 24. The cubs represent the first litter between the mother, 5-year-old Adia, and 7-year-old father, Xerxes. This is the first offspring for the father. The last birth of lions was in 2012 when Adia gave birth to four cubs with a different male. A screen capture from an internal cam shows Adia with one of her cubs.  Zookeepers moved the cubs into the off-view maternity den where the new family can bond in comfortable, quiet surroundings. Before reuniting the cubs with mom, the zoo's veterinary team did a quick health assessment of the cubs and determined that all three are males. The father remains separated from the cubs and mother. Zookeepers are monitoring the new family round-the-clock. The mot