Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Janel Kempf, Education and Kirsten Pisto, Communications A few weeks ago, Woodland Park Zoo education specialist Janel Kempf and co-workers went to the West Seattle Library to present the zoo’s Little Critters animal encounter program to a group of children, as part of the zoo’s community outreach. Janel Kempf holding peregrine falcon D1. Photo by Kyle Doane/Woodland Park Zoo. Before the show started, a little girl and her mom came up to Janel, holding out a bundle of brightly wrapped tissue paper. Gifts for the raptors. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. When the team opened the gifts they discovered that the package contained some very thoughtful items for our raptors! It turns out the four-year-old girl had come to the zoo’s raptor program at the Columbia Library a few weeks before, and had been very moved by the plight of our rescued raptors including Chouette, the northern saw-whet owl . Chouette came to us after she was struck by a vehicle while bug-hun

Posted by: Susan Burchardt, Raptor Keeper Turkey vulture Modoc in flight at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Vultures are often depicted as harbingers of death, yet many vulture populations face threats of their own with some species facing extinction. We’re celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day on September 3 to help zoo visitors look past the vultures’ bad reputation and highlight their vital ecological niche as nature’s clean-up crew. California condor at San Diego Zoo. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Snowmanradio. Vultures are scavenging birds that help recycle and prevent the spread of disease. But serving as a clean-up crew by feeding on carrion was partially what led to the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)—a New World vulture—dipping down to a dismally low population of just 22 birds in the 1980s. The condors were dying from feeding on lead-poisoned carcasses, and poaching and habitat destruction compounded the problem. Zoos

Posted by: John Samaras, Penguin Keeper This blog post is part one of a three-part series based on Woodland Park Zoo penguin keeper John Samaras’ work in Punta San Juan, Peru with a  zoo conservation partner . As part of Woodland Park Zoo’s continuing effort in the conservation of Humboldt penguins , I had the opportunity to travel to Punta San Juan in Peru and take part in an annual health assessment of the wild population conducted by zoo professionals and Peruvian biologists. Woodland Park Zoo’s penguin exhibit, which opened in May 2009, replicates the coast of Punta San Juan, a barren desert peninsula that juts out into the South Pacific in southern Peru. Because of its proximity to the Humboldt current (a cold water current from Antarctica rich in fish and prey species) there is an amazing abundance of life on the rocky coast. Hundreds of thousands of seabirds and tens of thousands of fur seals and sea lions, as well as a large concentration of Humboldt penguins, call this p

Introduction posted by: Gretchen Albrecht, Raptor Keeper Field notes posted by: Joanna Bojarski, Raptor Keeper Woodland Park Zoo collaborates with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to study and protect the state threatened ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) and other raptors in Washington through the Raptor Ecology of the Shrub Steppe project, one of WPZ’s Partners for Wildlife conservation programs. As raptor keepers we play an active role in the project by educating zoo visitors about the plight of the fragile and beautiful shrub steppe habitat on which these birds depend. We also get to assist with field work through the study which allows us to see first hand the challenges these raptors face in the wild. This year, fellow raptor keepers Joanna Bojarski, Susan Burchardt and Jean Ragland joined the project in the field to collect data on how wind farms in the region impact raptor behavior. These are Joanna’s notes from the field… 6:30 a.m. - I arrive at the

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The snowy owlet that hatched in June is doing well and growing fast. It has begun to venture away from the nest and is quite active, moving around its exhibit and taking food from keepers now. The chick had its first vet exam this week and weighed in at 3.3 pounds. Because of the decline in snowy owl populations due to West Nile virus, it was very important for this young bird to receive the first in a series of West Nile vaccinations during the exam. The vets also drew blood for DNA testing which will determine its sex—we’ll let you know when we get the results! The chick is still largely covered with downy feathers but is beginning to grow in its adult plumage that gives the snowy owl its well-known white coloration. Look for the fast-growing chick on exhibit now in the Northern Trail biome of Woodland Park Zoo. Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Snow is in the forecast at Woodland Park Zoo with the hatching of a snowy owl chick! This owlet was hatched on June 13 but we have not yet determined the gender of the chick. Keepers have been monitoring the owlet and it appears to be in good health. The parents and chick live in our award-winning Northern Trail exhibit, but you won’t be able to spot the chick just yet as mom is sitting on the nest taking good care it. The owlet is growing very quickly, and it might be just another week or two before visitors will be able to spot it. This species of owl is migratory and nomadic. Every seven to 10 years, the Arctic-dwelling snowy owl appears in Washington state during winter months in large numbers, known as an "irruption," a period when young owls leave their breeding range in search of food. Many raptor species are facing decline due to human-imposed activities. Raptors provide many benefits—they consume many animals that hu

Posted by: Mark Myers, Animal Curator Metal detectors and body scans—not just for airports any more! This is the story of how a penguin’s life was saved by these technologies right here at Woodland Park Zoo. TSA gone too far? Nope, just a zookeeper demonstrating how we use a metal detector on penguins. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week, zookeepers observed that one of our penguin juveniles was not feeling well. Diablo, hatched last year, had not been eating regularly and was losing weight. Diablo’s keepers suspected he may have ingested a foreign body that was causing blockage for him. So they brought him behind the scenes and used a metal detector wand to determine if he had ingested any coins or other metal objects. Trust me, it’s not easy metal detecting on a penguin! You have to be careful to hold the penguin away from anything that might give a false positive, and penguins, well, they can fidget. But sure enough, once the keepers got Diablo into place and wave

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications With recent bear sightings in Bothell and Renton, and the start of camping and cook-out season, we want to make sure you are prepared with essential tips for living with wildlife here in the Pacific Northwest. We’re dedicating June 4 to a day of programming that will show you how to avoid attracting bears to your home and campsite, while also showing you how to attract wildlife you do want to your backyard, including birds and butterflies. Join us June 4 for our annual Bear Affair and Big Howl for Wolves presented by Brown Bear Car Wash . You’ll meet bear ecologist and adventurer Chris Morgan who’ll make a guest appearance for bear demonstrations and a book signing. Watch grizzlies rip through a mock campsite and a yard setting in the naturalistic grizzly bear exhibit. Learn safety camping tips by Boy Scouts. Talk to representatives from Wolf Haven International and Conservation Northwest. Get up close to a Karelian bear dog and find

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Five Humboldt penguin chicks hatched this past February and took their first steps out into their exhibit on Monday morning. The chicks, who practiced swimming behind the scenes in a secure pool room before their debut, took to the water quickly and have been exploring all around their exhibit. The colony is adjusting well to the new additions, which are significant hatchings for the penguin Species Survival Plan . Humboldt penguins are an endangered species and here at the zoo these birds are important conservation ambassadors to teach visitors about the impacts humans have on penguins in their range countries. You can tell the chicks apart from the adults by looking for their lighter, more grayish plumage. Look for them during your next visit! Photos by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Video by Erika Schultz, courtesy Seattle Times.

Posted by: Jim Watson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife Raptor Ecology of the Shrub-Steppe , a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife , is a project of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify, track and study native raptors and their conservation threats. This is an update from the field... The 2011 field season for Raptor Ecology of the Shrub-Steppe is just beginning, but it is a good time to reflect on the past season and the fresh outlook a new spring will bring. Many raptors will be returning to their nests after a long-winter, rejuvenated and prepared to start the nesting cycle again. Sadly, some raptors won’t return to their nests this spring as they may have in previous years, not having survived the challenges created by humans and natural hazards in their environments. I’d like to relate a short story that honors the contribution of a particular ferruginous hawk to our research and illustrates how dif

Posted by: Jane David, LVT, Hospital Manager, Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle Maybe it is just coincidence that “ aguila ” means “eagle” in Spanish, but when a Steller’s sea eagle from Woodland Park Zoo needed specialized surgery for a fractured bone, Dr. Alexander Aguila of the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle was ready! On March 23rd, Dr. Darin Collins, Woodland Park Zoo Director of Animal Health, contacted the surgeons at Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle regarding a potential fracture repair on the right wing of a Steller’s sea eagle named Natasha. Exhibited in the award-winning Northern Trail exhibit at the zoo, Natasha is the female of a breeding pair acquired in 2010 . Steller’s sea eagles are among the largest and heaviest of the raptor family, and Natasha weighs in at 13 pounds with a wing-span of over 6 feet! On the morning of March 22, Natasha (pictured in the background above) was found on the ground of her zoo enclosure. She appeared to be having difficulty main