Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Laura McComesky, Zookeeper Today is World Orangutan Day and in honor of our fab five, we know you'll love seeing how we celebrated orangutan awareness—and how you can take a role in helping save endangered Sumatran and Bornean orangutans—during our Asian Wildlife Conservation Day earlier this month. Tropical fruit generously provided to the orangutans by Uwajimaya. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. KIND Snacks was our official sponsor for the day and we thank and applaud them for their commitment to sourcing and using only certified sustainable palm oil. Family-owned Asian grocery Uwajimaya generously contributed a cornucopia of exotic tropical fruits for our orangutans. Melati delights in the durian and other tropical fruits. Photos by Carolyn Sellar/Woodland Park Zoo. Not everyone finds the treats as tempting as the orangutans. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. During our keeper talk, our orangutans enjoyed durian, jackfruit, ...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor On this World Orangutan Day, we shout out to all the kids who left their handprints at the orangutan exhibit earlier this month as a pledge to save these endangered primates. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. The activity, part of our Asian Wildlife Conservation Day celebrations, helped the next generation realize that the fate of orangutans is in their hands. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Orangutans are struggling to survive in the wild, their populations under threat by the loss of forests in Asia. We work with the  Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program (GPOCP), a Woodland Park Zoo  Partner for Wildlife , to address the conservation crisis in the field. Wild orangutan. Photo by Tim Laman. The main goal of GPOCP is to work with the communities surrounding Borneo’s Gunung Palung National Park to foster sustainable stewardship of the area’s natural resources and build a future where oranguta...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Would you describe yourself as sweet or commanding? Do you prefer Jell-O to peanuts? Take the “Which Orangutan Am I?” quiz to see which one of Woodland Park Zoo’s five orangutans you are most like—Towan, Heran, Melati, Chinta or Belawan. Then post your results here and share with your friends! (Me? I’m such a Chinta.) Come meet your orangutan at Asian Wildlife Conservation Day on Sat., August 9, 2014  to learn all about these amazing apes and what you can do to protect them in the wild. At the special event, free with zoo admission or membership, you’ll enjoy keeper talks and activities for the family at the orangutan exhibit, where you can take a pledge to protect this endangered species. You’ll even have the chance to enter a raffle to win a painting made by one of our very own orangutans! Towan creates a work of art. Photo by Carolyn Sellar/Woodland Park Zoo. The activities continue across the zoo spotlighting conservation ...