Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications This season brings eight new additions to our endangered Humboldt penguin colony. The chicks will make their debut later this summer once they get a little bigger and become proficient swimmers. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. One of the youngest chicks, seen here at 10 days old, hatched on April 27 to 13-year-old father Pizarron and 3-year-old mother Maria, who herself was born at the zoo in 2010. That brings the total number of penguins hatched at the zoo since our award-winning exhibit opened in 2009 to 32! As Humboldt penguins are endangered, these hatchings--part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) conservation breeding program--add up to lots to celebrate. SSPs maximize genetic diversity, with the goal of ensuring the long-term survival of populations and the health of individual animals. These new generations of penguins help us continue to  tell the story of what is happen

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications One day old tawny frogmouth chick. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The tawny frogmouths didn’t want to be left out of the zoo’s baby boom , so they hatched their first chick of the season last week. Adult frogmouths sport mottled, grayish feathers that let them camouflage themselves like a dead tree branch, but they start life as a little, white puffball, covered in downy feathers. What do you think the tawny frogmouth chick looks most like? At one day old, the chick weighed in at 16.5 g (0.58 ounces). Its parents are doing a good job caring for it in their nest. The chick is weighed daily to make sure its growing as expected, and we’ll offer some supplemental snacks (little bits of mice) if it needs help putting on weight. One day old. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The chick’s parents have another fertile egg in their nest, so we may have a second hatching on our hands soon. The family lives behin

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Just when our zookeepers thought the baby boom was at bay, our porcupine pair delivered the zoo’s first ever North American porcupette (the name for a baby porcupine—and yes, the name is as cute as the baby)! Unlike the other recent births, we have to admit: we didn't see this one coming! Our 2-year-old breeding pair, Molly and Oliver, joined Woodland Park Zoo in June 2011 shortly after their April birthdays. At such a young age, zookeepers expected that Oliver was a year shy of sexual maturity. To their surprise, Molly gave birth to a male porcupette on April 18 in the Northern Trail exhibit den! Thinking back, Molly must have become pregnant in September, giving her a seven-month gestation period before birthing the pair’s first baby. A porcupette is born with a full coat and open eyes, contrasting many of its rodent counterparts. Within hours of birth its soft coat of quills beg

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo NOTE: The sloth bear exhibit is currently off view while construction is completed in the area. A temporary path will open on May 4 to give you access to see the cubs on exhibit. Until then, the cubs' time spent outside is off view to visitors. Thanks for your patience. We promise the cubs are worth the wait! Last Friday, our twin sloth bear cubs took their first steps outside. Technically, their very first moments outside weren't steps at all, as they rode out from their den clinging to mom's back. Their feet didn't hit the ground until a minute later, when the sights and smells piqued their curiosity and they hopped down to check out their new surroundings. Video: Sloth bear cubs outside for the first time. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The cubs are now 3 months old, and up until now, they have been glued to mom's side in their behind-the-scenes maternity d

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The results of our Name the Cubs contest are in! More than 2,000 of you entered the contest for a chance to name one male and one female lion cub—and the winning names are: Male cub – Rudo (“love” in Zulu, pronounced ROO-doh ) Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Female cub – Busela (“happy and independent” in Zulu, pronounced BOO-sayla ) Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Two lucky winners— Tate and Ross MacDonald of Seattle and Pamela Garland of Olympia —are taking home the grand prizes for submitting these winning names, as selected by our panel of zoo judges. That grand prize includes a private viewing at the lion exhibit with a keeper! Rudo and Busela join their brother and sister, who also received names recently, this time with the help of zookeepers and donors who have helped bring big cats to Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. The other male is now known as Pelo (“heart” in Sot

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Still image captured from internal monitoring cam on Monday, March 25, three days after birth.  The zoo welcomed three cubs to the count on Friday, marking the first jaguar birth at the zoo in nearly two decades! In the last few months, the zoo seems to be bursting with babies. Can we get a cub count? In November, we celebrated the birth of four rambunctious lions in over 20 years at the zoo. In December, mama sloth bear, Tasha, surprised us with not one but two newborns . And Friday evening, the rare birth of jaguar triplets sent the cub count soaring. In just six months, the zoo has welcomed nine cubs from three animal species! The three new cubs are celebrated as the latest members of the zoo’s newest generation. Zookeepers are using an internal monitoring cam to keep an eye on mom and jaguar cubs inside their behind-the-scenes maternity den. Catch a glimpse of what we can see on the cam in the video below. Video take

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Mom Adia doesn't get to rest much with four cubs, but she's as sharp as ever when it comes to watching out for them. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week the lion cubs got their first access to the full lion exhibit that includes the watery moat. That moat was a concern for us when the cubs were still small and developing their coordination skills, which is why they were only recently given access to the area. Now that the cubs have the run of the exhibit, keepers have been watching Adia closely to make sure that she’s not too overwhelmed by trying to look after four rambunctious cubs across a large space and near that moat. The moat is in the forefront as the cubs play with mom on the heated rock. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. But momma proved to us this weekend that we never needed to doubt her ability to be in charge. When she was playing with a ball the other day, it got away from her and r

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications The cubs took to the heated rock in the exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Together, our four little felines have explored most every inch of their current exhibit space. They've rolled across each thick patch of grass, scaled all logs without hesitation, licked every crevice of the viewing glass, and now we think it’s time they move on to bigger, bolder adventures. Adventures that encompass their entire exhibit! Now that the cubs are big enough and coordinated enough, they are safe to be near the moat in the exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Our animal management staff continues to keep watchful eyes on the spunky foursome. But at nearly five months old and nearly 50 pounds apiece, the cubs can run, jump, roll and roar safely in the spacious lion exhibit of our award-winning African Savanna. That means the fence has come down and they now have access beyond the smaller, moat-free yard where the

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Unlike the largely solitary snow leopard or jaguar, lions are the most social of the big cats, regularly living in groups known as prides. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lions live in matriarchal societies, where lionesses make up the majority of the pride and take on various group responsibilities. In most prides, lionesses live among their cubs , sisters and female cousins. A few males live within the group, though most are unrelated. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lionesses are slender, making them more agile and faster than the males, which is helpful since the females are the primary hunters within the pride. While females hunt, the males guard their territory and protect the cubs from larger predators. Once old enough, male offspring will be run out of the pride and forced to join a bachelor pride until they can dominate a pride of their own. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Have you visi

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Two of Woodland Park Zoo’s quadruplet lion cubs need names, and we need your help! Enter the naming contest for a chance to win an amazing zoo prize pack, including a private viewing at the lion exhibit with a zookeeper! We’re in search of Zulu or Sotho names for one male cub and one female cub. The languages reflect a part of the range where South African lions live. A judging panel of zoo staff will select the cubs’ names from your submissions. The other two cubs will also receive Zulu or Sotho names, this time chosen by zookeepers and long-time zoo donors who have helped bring big cats to Woodland Park Zoo. Need some inspiration? Here is a little bio on each of the two cubs to spark some ideas. Male cub. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This male cub likes to rough around with his brother and often finds himself in mud. When not chasing his brother, sisters or mom, he can usually be spotted jumping on logs and wrestling st

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The quadruplet lion cubs are ready for the big time. The cubs officially debut on exhibit this Sat., Feb. 16! Photo by Mat Hayward/Woodland Park Zoo. Starting Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily, the 3-month-old cubs and mom are scheduled to be on view in the lion shelter located in the award-winning African Savanna. Viewing hours may vary or may be canceled for the day due to weather and veterinary examinations, and will increase incrementally as the cubs continue growing. Photo by Mat Hayward/Woodland Park Zoo. The cubs spent their first weeks in a behind-the-scenes maternity den with mom Adia, then took their first steps outdoors earlier this month. For the past two weeks the cubs have been exploring the outdoors through a series of introduction sessions. Photo by Mat Hayward/Woodland Park Zoo. They adjusted to the outdoors right away, exploring all around, playing with sticks and trotting through mud. Their

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Want to see what the tree kangaroo joey is up to? Now you can watch joey and mom through a limited-engagement web cam , streaming live from the family’s behind-the-scenes maternity den! Screenshot taken from the live web cam (you can stare at it, but it won’t move in this pic!). Watch the tree kangaroos live at www.zoo.org/animalcam Born the size of a lima bean in June 2012, this tree kangaroo baby is just starting to emerge from its mother’s pouch. Through the video monitor, you can see the joey and its mom, Elanna, in a behind-the-scenes maternity enclosure. The cam is streaming live from one of their rooms, but the family has access to an adjacent room, so there may be times when they are not visible on camera. When's the best time to watch? Tree kangaroos are crepuscular, which means they are most active in the morning and at dusk.  Tree kangaroo joey emerging from pouch. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.