Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications With five chicks hatched in April, we were thrilled with the breeding success of our endangered Humboldt penguin colony in just the first year of their new exhibit. Well, now there’s even more to cheer. Two more penguins just hatched at the start of August! The keepers regularly weigh the chicks to ensure they are achieving acceptable weight gains. At the weigh-in today, the 12-day-old chick came in at just over 1 lb and the 9-day-old chick at 0.6 lb. They looked healthy and it seems their parents, 18-year-old mother Cujo and 20-year-old father Oedipus, are properly caring for them in their off-exhibit nesting burrow. The parents are among the oldest penguins in the zoo’s colony and also the most genetically valued breeding pair at the zoo. As part of our work in the Species Survival Plan for the endangered Humboldt penguins, ensuring such genetic diversity is critical to the stability of the population. The two chicks will stay under the car

Posted by: Mark Myers, Curator This tiny, white puffball is a tawny frogmouth chick that hatched at the zoo on July 11. When our first ever tawny frogmouth chick hatched last year , internet users raged in debate whether it looked more like a furby, a cottonball, or a tribble, but it’s actually a nocturnal bird native to Australia and Tasmania. Seen here at five days old, the chick still sports downy feathers, but soon it will start to acquire its flight feathers and darker contour plumage that acts as camouflage, blending into the color and texture of tree bark. In the chick’s first week, keepers provided supplemental feedings to ensure good weight gain: Under its parents’ attentive care behind the scenes at the zoo, the chick is now gaining 15-20% of its body weight daily so supplemental feedings are no longer required. The parents and hatchling will remain off public exhibit to allow staff to monitor parental care and ensure regular feedings by the parents. The hatching is significa

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Our five Humboldt penguin chicks have joined the adult colony and can now be viewed on exhibit during zoo hours. To get them used to being in the water before they debuted, the chicks had round-the-clock access to a shallow pool behind the scenes at the exhibit where they could practice floating and swimming in a more controlled and less crowded environment. See them in action here… The youngest of the chicks, a male hatched to parents Diego and Radar on April 25, is in need of a name and we’re asking our online fans to help. Fans can submit name suggestions for the chick to the wall of our Facebook page beginning July 7 through July 8, noon PST. To honor the Humboldt penguin’s Chilean and Peruvian native range, fans are encouraged to submit Spanish-language names. Penguin keepers will select their three favorite names from the submissions, and fans will then vote on July 9 on the zoo’s Facebook page for their top pick. So start thinking up s

Posted by: Bobbi Miller, Conservation While we celebrate the hatching of our new red-crowned crane here at the zoo, our Partner for Wildlife Sergei Smirenski of Cranes of Asia reminds us of just how precarious the balance between habitat and population is in the wild. Recently he told us of a devastating fire that burned through 90% of Muraviovka Park, a protected area of critical crane habitat in the Russian Far East. The Amur region of Russia is an important nesting ground for the endangered red-crowned crane. Muraviovka Park was established in part to protect the diminishing wetlands which serve as a critical habitat for the crane, with an estimated population of only 2,700 left in the wild. Due to an ongoing drought, fires started by hunters or nearby farmers can present a potentially habitat destroying event that takes an already endangered species even closer to the brink. And that is exactly what happened on the afternoon of May 2 when smoke appeared on the horizon. According

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Eating fish and swimming around come naturally to our Humboldt penguin chicks . But to make sure they are getting the best possible diet and are comfortable and confident in their surroundings, our keepers are currently giving the chicks some one-on-one attention behind the scenes before they join the adults out on exhibit. The two oldest chicks , hatched April Fool’s Day and Easter Sunday, have lost their downy feathers and now have waterproof feathers for swimming. To get them used to being in water, the chicks have round-the-clock access to a shallow pool behind the scenes at the exhibit, where they can practice floating and swimming. And while eating is no problem for these chicks, they do now have to learn how to accept fish directly from their keepers like all the adult penguins do. Hand feeding is especially useful because it allows the keepers to keep track of just how much each bird is eating as well as ensuring that each individual r

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications In April, we celebrated the hatching of five Humboldt penguin chicks . Yesterday, we showed off a couple of these chicks to local press, and are they growing fast! The biggest chick weighed in at 8 pounds and is just 3 inches shy of reaching full adult height. While penguin chicks do grow surprisingly fast, they still have that adorable “babyish” look. Wearing the downy plumage they were born with, their gray, waterproof feathers are starting to grow in. The three sets of parents continue to raise their young in nesting burrows in a quiet, off-exhibit room. The chicks shown in these photos hatched on the first of April and on Easter Sunday, representing the oldest chicks from this year’s breeding season. We don’t know the gender of the chicks yet but will find out in the near future through DNA testing. So, when do you get to see the chicks? Our plan is to introduce them to the outdoor exhibit sometime in late June to mid-July, but first we nee

Posted by: Eric Kowalczyk, Zookeeper It was a perfect day for birding weatherwise for our annual Early Morning Birdwalk at the zoo this past Saturday: temperatures in low 50s, perfectly blue skies, no wind. If only the birds would cooperate! About 30 guests met us at the zoo's South Entrance at 6:45 a.m. After a brief introduction, we split the group up into two smaller parties. One group was led by raptor keeper Tom Aversa and docent Pat Bredouw. The other group was led by me with great assistance from docents Anna Martin and Laurie Ann Dudley. We wandered around the most likely places on the zoo grounds in hopes to spot some migratory birds that have stopped here for some fattening up before their next leg of their nocturnal migration north. The total bird count was 32 species. Some of the migratory species seen/heard by at least some include: western tanager, Townsend's warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, Wilson's warbler, warbling vireo, black-headed grosbeak, white-cr

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Here's the first video of the newly hatched Humboldt penguin chick. Turn up the sound to find out what the keepers are looking for during this quick checkup: And here's some exciting news--this chick now has a sibling, hatched on Easter Sunday! Penguin keepers are weighing the chicks each day for the first week after hatching to ensure acceptable weight gains while allowing the parents to raise their chicks and gain experience as parents. In zoos and in the wild, both penguin parents take turns incubating the eggs and caring for their young. It will be early summer before the penguin chicks emerge from the nesting burrows and venture outdoors into the public exhibit. We'll post updates periodically as the chicks grow. Video produced by Ryan Hawk, narration by Katie Norton/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications As we shared earlier this week , Easter has delivered an early batch of eggs to Woodland Park Zoo – Humboldt penguin eggs, that is – and the first chick was discovered to have hatched on April Fool’s Day! The first penguin chick represents the first offspring for mother Dora and father PJ, both 3 years old. The second egg in their nest shows pipping activity and is expected to hatch on Easter Sunday. The newly hatched chick weighs 2.1 oz. Humboldt penguin chicks hatch with grayish brown, downy feathers, which molt into completely gray feathers when they fledge. It will be early summer before any of the chicks emerge from the nesting burrows and venture outdoors into the public exhibit for visitors to enjoy. Over the last few weeks, three pairs of Humboldt penguins have been sitting on two eggs each in the burrows specially constructed for the birds in their new exhibit. At least two of the remaining four eggs are fertile. Staff plans to cand

Posted by: Shawn Pedersen, Animal Collection Manager Penguin fans—we’ve got some exciting news for you! Over the last few weeks, three pairs of Humboldt penguins have been busy incubating two eggs each in the burrows we’ve constructed for them in their new exhibit . This is great progress for our birds and shows us they are comfortable in the exhibit we’ve built for them . These are the first eggs at Woodland Park Zoo to come from this flock of penguins that debuted last May, and we’ve been tracking the development of the eggs around every two weeks with a process called candling. With candling, you use a high powered and focused light for just a few quick seconds to see if the egg is fertile, alive and developing as it should be. You can see some photos of the process below: Depending on how far along in the incubation process the egg is, you should be able to see veins after about a week’s time, and should be able to see movement in the egg about half way through the incubation

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications A rescued and rehabilitated golden eagle named Ranger will be the newest addition to the zoo’s Raptor Center, and today, he received a full physical examination by our Animal Health staff as part of the standard quarantine process for new animals. Ranger is estimated to be between three and five years old, and has been through a lot in his time. He came under the care of Yakima’s Raptor House Rehabilitation Center in 2008 when he was discovered with wing and leg injuries after sustaining electrical shock and later being struck by a vehicle. He also tested positive for lead poisoning. Eagles can unintentionally ingest lead fragments when feeding on animals that were shot. Poisoning also can occur through bioaccumulation when many animals killed by lead bullets are eaten. Due to his injuries, he cannot be released back into the wild, but we’re excited to welcome him to Woodland Park Zoo and to provide him with a safe, long-term home and excell

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Last Thursday, Woodland Park Zoo was recognized by the Seattle Design Commission with a design excellence award for our new Humboldt penguin exhibit! The award is in recognition of Seattle’s best capital improvement projects. Other honorees were Fremont Peak Park, Thornton Creek, Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan, and Sound Transit Central Link. Visitors may be fixated on the nose-to-beak views of the penguins in the exhibit, but it’s the harder to see sustainable elements of the exhibit that captured the Design Commission’s attention. With support from Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities , we installed an energy efficient ground-based geothermal heat pump that uses the Earth’s below-ground temperature to keep the exhibit’s water at a penguin-friendly 55 degrees year round, as well as an innovative water filtration system. These features will save nearly 22,000 kilowatt-hours of energy and 3 million gallons of water per year.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications We're getting into the holiday spirit here at the zoo. Join us in kicking off the holiday season by sharing our new season’s greetings video with your friends and family. You can also now send a zoo-themed holiday e-card to wish that special someone a happy holiday season. Video produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Mark Myers, Curator Back in September we announced the hatching of the first Chilean flamingo chicks in Woodland Park Zoo’s history. For the best possible care, we’ve been hand-rearing them behind the scenes. But they still need their exercise for healthy development, so at least once a day, the chicks are taken outside (depending on the weather) and raced up and down to help them stretch out and gain strength in their long legs and developing wings. You can watch zookeeper Ernie Rose take the flamingos for a walk in this video, including a stop by the back of the flamingo exhibit to see the adult birds. Chicks are hatched with a gray, downy coating. At around 1 year of age, the familiar pink coloration will develop as the adult plumage grows in, the color derived from beta carotene— the same naturally occurring nutrient that gives carrots and other vegetables their coloration. Once the chicks are large enough, they will join the rest of the flock in the exhibit. Video pro

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham & Gigi Allianic, Communications Woodland Park Zoo is cheering for the Seattle Sounders FC as they head to the first round of MLS Cup playoffs this week. This morning, the animals got into the spirit of the playoffs their own way. While we didn’t see any banana kicks or diving headers here, the zoo’s grizzly bears, twin snow leopard cubs, and Humboldt penguins did have quite the time playing with and kicking around soccer balls. The soccer balls for the animals are a form of enrichment as part of the zoo’s animal care program to help enhance the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and engage zoo visitors. The cubs playfully tumbled with the soccer balls, the bears crushed them with their jaws, and the penguins excitedly dove around the soccer balls floating in their pool. Do your own cheering as the Seattle Sounders FC face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Playoff Western Conference Semifinals on T

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Check out this latest conservation interview featuring Dr. Sergei Smirinski, a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife , on endangered cranes and other plants and animals of Muraviovka Park in Russia. The Cranes of Asia conservation project works to protect the red crowned crane, hooded crane and oriental white stork, all of which rely on protection of the habitat in Russia's Muraviovka Park. Some of the critical threats facing the cranes and their habitat include long-term drought, fires that eliminate the dead grass necessary for nest camouflage, predators and competitors due to the growing impact of the drought and fires, disturbance by spring hunting on waterfowl, collisions with power lines, and use of pesticides and herbicides. For more information on Dr. Smirinski's work to conserve the cranes of Asia, check out our newly updated Partners for Wildlife website. Video by Ryan Hawk, photo by Dennis Dow.

Posted by: Ryan Hawk, Photographer The first Chilean flamingo chick born at Woodland Park Zoo continues to grow and develop. Its big legs, loud squawks, and fuzzy/downy white feathers make this little guy unique. (Seen here in the tub of water at 1 week old.) Now 2 weeks old, the chick has been introduced to water, as well as to solid foods in the form of a slurry which it has already learned to filter feed from. The chick is currently off public view. Photos by Ryan Hawk

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications We’ve got exciting news! A Chilean flamingo chick has hatched at Woodland Park Zoo, marking the first time the zoo has successfully hatched a Chilean flamingo in its 109-year history! The chick hatched in an incubator on August 25, following a 29-day incubation period. To ensure a higher chance of survival, a team of dedicated and expert staff are hand-raising and hand-feeding the chick off public exhibit for now. You might remember the arrival of a new flock of more than 25 flamingos last year. They debuted in a brand new 4,000-square-foot exhibit that opened in May 2008. This spring represented the first full breeding season for the new flock in the new exhibit as the graceful birds put on a striking show of synchronized courtship and ritualized behaviors for zoo guests – head flagging, wing saluting and marching in sequence and unison. This active display culminated with nest building, egg laying and one chick to date! Zoo guests can see the

Posted by: Mark Myers, Animal Curator A Northern helmeted curassow chick hatched 6/26 with a little assistance from keepers since the chick wasn’t making much progress after 48 hours of effort. It is now located behind the scenes in a brooder box next to its mother in the zoo’s Conservation Aviary in the Temperate Forest zone. By keeping it next to her, the chick should become more properly socialized and have less of a chance of imprinting on humans. To reduce imprinting, staff minimizes talking in the presence of the chick. Like chickens or turkeys, curassow chicks are precocial at hatching—meaning they are born relatively independent—and with guidance, they learn to eat on their own very quickly. To stimulate it to eat, we use objects like tweezers or a long stick with a red tip to point food out to the chick. These chicks are also very arboreal and they like to perch up off the ground. At hatching, their wing feathers are very well developed which allows them to take short flights

Posted by: Mark Myers, Curator Woodland Park Zoo’s first ever tawny frogmouth chick is growing up! What first looked like a cottonball is now starting to look more like the adults of its species. At 20 days of age, the chick is doing great and achieving all the expected developmental benchmarks—it has clear eyes, its flight feathers are growing well and its weight is up to 5.9 ounces (it would take six stamps to mail it!). The first-time parents are doing well too. The male, shown here, has been sitting on the nest during the day brooding the chick. The chick has been given the name Nangkita, an aboriginal word inspired by its native Australia meaning “place of little frogs.” It’s a fitting name given the bird’s wide, frog-like mouth. Typically tawny frogmouth chicks leave the nest between anywhere from 25-35 days of age. Photos and video by Ryan Hawk.