Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Dr. Deborah B. Jensen, President and CEO Mother Nature isn’t always kind. Just as some human babies are born with congenital conditions that throw their parents for a loop, leading them to make extraordinary commitments to their children’s special needs, the same can be true for animals. As you recall from last year’s stories , our endangered snow leopard cubs, Asha and Shanti, now 15 months old, were born with multiple ocular coloboma. This relatively rare congenital eye anomaly affects both human and non-human animals including Bengal tigers, Florida panthers, snow leopards, horses, and certain breeds of domestic cats and dogs. In Greek, coloboma means “unfinished.” The eye stops growing before it is fully developed. Ultimately, Asha and Shanti would develop functional vision only in their left eyes. Many of you wrote to us with outpourings of encouragement and hope for the cubs’ struggle, and for the expert staff caring for them. So I’d like to update you since th

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photos by: Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo Visitors catch a glimpse of Gavin in the zoo's Raptor Yard. Gavin, our youngest porcupine, is stretching his legs and catching some rays in a spacious zoo yard, giving guests an up-close visit with—quite possibly—our cutest quilled creature. Gavin on the run in the Raptor Yard.  While Gavin’s parents, Molly and Oliver, occupy the Northern Trail porcupine exhibit, Gavin takes to the zoo’s Raptor Center yard on weekdays for regular exercise and explorations under the supervision of zookeepers and staff. His visits to the Raptor Center yard are not formally scheduled, but you might catch a closer look at the pint-sized porcupine during your afternoon visits to the zoo! Notice the thick gloves required when holding Gavin and his quills. At 2 months of age, keepers began to notice a decrease in his weight, which for a young growing porcupine is a cause for concern. Upon examin

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Two pups follow mom outside for the very first time. Everyone is busy getting the Asian small-clawed otter pups ready for their outdoor debut. Mom and dad have been teaching the pups how to swim in a shallow, indoor pool in their behind-the-scenes den. Zookeepers have been baby-proofing the outdoor exhibit—adding ramps made from branches to the water and slowing the stream and waterfall down to a trickle so the pups don’t wipe out. The pups followed mom onto exhibit briefly. All is set. Now we just need to get the pups to come outside for a little practice time. That’s proving to be the hardest part. Taking a peek at the waterfall on exhibit.  Last Tuesday morning, mom Teratai guided her pups out onto exhibit to give them a chance to explore the outdoors for the first time. Notice the little patch on the pup's side? Each pup has a unique shaved patch to help keepers tell t

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Mom Olivia and aunt Tufani give the little calf some tender attention. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. At just 1 week old, Woodland Park Zoo’s male baby giraffe has become an overnight sensation, and now, it just gets better. Giraffe fans can get their daily fix of the tallest baby in Seattle through a live 24/7 animal cam , courtesy of Dropcam. The live cam is installed behind the scenes in the giraffe barn and allows the public to watch the calf nursing, bonding with mom and doing what babies do…sleep. The best viewing times for the live cam are between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. PST. The baby giraffe was born August 6 to 6-year-old Olivia, a first-time mom. Born at 6 feet tall, he now stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and continues to thrive under the care of his mom. Olivia has been an excellent mom and the baby’s progressing on the mark. He’s playful and is beginning to sample hay, grain and leaves, which you can sometimes vie

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Move over, One Direction. We've got our own band of boys at Woodland Park Zoo that is stealing hearts and making fans squeal. That’s right—after their first vet exam, we've learned our four Asian small-clawed otter pups are all boys! An otter pup gets his first check up from the zoo vet. The otters had their first check-up with the zoo's vets and are all healthy and hitting their benchmarks as growing pups. Still, they don’t do too much yet other than eat, sleep and play in their behind-the-scenes den. Even the playing isn't too advanced—no running or chasing, we’re still just at that pouncing and chewing on each other stage. The pups are now 9 weeks old. Weighing in at 1.2 – 1.4 pounds each, the pups are now big enough to get their feet wet. Swim lessons behind the scenes are going slowly. They’re beginning to dip their mouths in a small, shallow tub. Mom dips her mouth

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo It’s a boy! Our giraffe calf got his first check-up with the zoo’s vet team yesterday and he is healthy and doing well. Keepers stand on the scale with the giraffe calf. Weighing the calf was an interesting exercise. First, we placed a towel over his head to eliminate distractions and keep him calm during the exam. Then four keepers walked onto the scale with the calf to help him stay in place long enough to get an accurate measurement. Subtract the combined weight of the keepers, and you've got a weight for the calf—144 pounds! Measuring the calf's height. We broke out the measuring tape and discovered our calf is even taller than we first estimated, measuring in at 6 feet. Mom watched the whole exam and remained calm and comfortable. Blood tests from the exam show that the calf is nursing normally and that mom Olivia is passing on necessary antibodies and proteins through he

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Standing in front of its mother about 13 hours after birth.  Woodland Park Zoo’s newest little one is in fact quite big: taller than some of its zookeepers, even! Welcome to the world a 5½-foot-tall giraffe, born to 6-year-old mom Olivia last night, August 6 at 7:03 p.m. The labor lasted about 1.5 hours and the little one was already standing just another 1.5 hours after birth. This is the face we've been waiting for! Zookeepers were on watch round the clock, and were able to hit record on our video camera just in time to catch the labor begin after a 14- to 15-month gestation period. Olivia wandered in and out of frame, and this video shows the breathtaking moments we were able to catch, from the baby emerging feet first, to its earliest moments after birth, including first efforts at trying to stand. The calf is standing, nursing from mom and bonding with her, all good si

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo’s four Asian small-clawed otter pups , born June 11, are getting cuter every day as they whistle, squeal and chirp, and learn to walk, run and jump. Because otter parents, and any older siblings, play an active role in raising young pups, the parents and new family have been living off view in the otter den. The pups will make their public debut later this summer in the new Bamboo Forest Reserve exhibit. The quadruplets mark the first offspring between 8-year-old father Guntur and 4-year-old mother Teratai, who also are new arrivals to the zoo. The weight of the pups currently teeters around 1 pound; their sexes have not yet been determined. The pups are beginning to play with each other and their parents. They’ve been chewing on each other and wrestling. Their attempts at jumping result in poorly executed pounces but it’s downright adorable. Before the pups are

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The question on everyone's mind is: who will give birth first—the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Phinney Ridge? Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo's own duchess, 6-year-old Rothschild’s giraffe Olivia, is expected to give birth any day now. With a gestation period of 14 to 15 months, Olivia’s window to give birth is pretty wide—it began June 24 and closes August 12, explained Martin Ramirez, a curator at the zoo. Olivia’s belly is pretty big and she’s carrying low so we expect a calf any day. Zookeepers are keeping a close watch for signs of labor which may include restlessness, loss of appetite, or biting or licking her flanks. We will bring Olivia into the barn and mobilize a 24-hour birth watch at the first sign of labor, and we also have a den cam installed in the barn to monitor the new family. The last viable birth of a giraffe at the zoo was in 1997. There’s a lot of excitement at the zoo for this

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communication Jaguar cubs Arizona, Inka and Kuwan. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. This week marked the final post-birth exam for the triplet jaguar cubs . These early in life check-ups are meant to ensure the cubs are gaining weight and hitting all of their developmental benchmarks, while also providing the opportunity to give vaccinations, draw blood samples for routine tests, and establish their health baselines. With the cubs now four months old and weighing 25-28 pounds, completing these exams can be a challenge. The cubs first need to be transferred one by one to the zoo’s Animal Health hospital. Getting the cubs into their transfer crate requires their cooperation—something they aren’t always willing to give. Cats will be cats. Arizona is readied for her exam. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Once a cub arrives at the hospital, it is anesthetized for the exam. This allows the zoo’s veterinary team to get in close to in