Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Jenny Mears, Education Pacific treefrog spotted at Forterra's Hazel Wolf Wetland. Photo: Mike Mallitt.  Yes, YOU can get involved in local amphibian conservation! Woodland Park Zoo has partnered with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) since 2012 to offer Amphibian Monitoring , a citizen science program in which western Washington residents learn how to survey for frogs, toads and salamanders in local ponds and wetlands. We welcome people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds in the program—no science or citizen science experience is necessary! The next Amphibian Monitoring training is Saturday, February 4. At the training you will learn how to find and identify local amphibians in a way that’s safe for people, amphibians and their habitats. Participants will form teams, choose a local wetland or pond, and monitor that site once a month using equipment provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, including hip waders, aquascopes and

Posted by Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, gorilla keeper EDITOR'S NOTE: Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks because of the striking silver hair that grows across their back all the way down to their hips. This is not only a mark of maturity (silver hairs appear around 12 years-old), but a sign that one might be strong and determined enough to protect his troop. In most gorilla troops, the silverback is the center of attention. He is responsible for guarding the troop against outsiders, finding choice feeding sites and playing mediator between the other gorillas in the group. While silver hairs, larger canines and handsome red crowns (in Western lowland gorillas) are all visual characteristics of a mighty silverback, it is the personality and behavior of these males that determine if they will lead. This is the story of how one such silverback, Leonel, has come into his own as a protector, leader and peacekeeper — in part with a little help from a tiny, adorable baby called Yo

Posted by: Bobbi Miller, Conservation There is a rite of passage that happens every October: the time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating on Halloween. Here, that means searching for the perfect costume to be donned on October 31st (and getting extra mileage out of it at Woodland Park Zoo’s Pumpkin Bash , of course!). We know Halloween is coming as the days get shorter and a pronounced chill fills the air. Colorful leaves fall gently to the ground, providing a crunchy blanket for small trick-or-treaters to walk on. Sweet little orangutan baby in the trees.  Halfway around the world in Borneo and Sumatra, the rainy season is just beginning. But the orangutans are not walking on the leaves that have fallen to the ground because orangutans are arboreal, spending most of their lives in the trees. There, those leaves become the umbrellas that keep small orangutan feet and heads dry.  Like small children, orangutan babies have a longer childhood dependence on their mot

Posted by: Kerston Swartz, Public Affairs Proceeds from the Save Vanishing Species stamp go to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Without Borders program. We're grateful in this digital age that some of you still send handwritten letters. That's because your Save Vanishing Species Stamp purchases from the U.S. Postal Service have just made it possible for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to award nearly $50,000 to the Woodland Park Zoo-Panthera Malayan Tiger Conservation Project and Rimba , our in-country field partner. The new funding will enhance our anti-poaching efforts in Peninsular Malaysia. We have yet to discover a wild tiger roaming the United States, but that doesn’t stop the USFWS from caring about their fight against extinction. Recognizing the critical role humans play in endangered species survival and the growing need for collaboration among countries, the USFWS created the Wildlife Without Borders program to provide grants for intern

Posted by: Ruaha Carnivore Project, a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife Male lion in the Ruaha landscape, Tanzania. Photo: Ruaha Carnivore Project. Lion Defender Joseph Dendu had just worked nine hours through the night to stop a traditional lion hunt near his village in Ruaha, Tanzania when he jumped on board a 10-hour bus ride with his fellow Defenders to the next test of his stamina: the annual Lion Guardian Games. The Games bring together protectors of lions from all over East Africa, all graduates of the training program offered by Lion Guardians , a conservation organization based in Amboseli, Kenya. Dedicated to finding and enacting long-term solutions for people and wildlife to co-exist, the organization trains local warriors to work from within the community to stop lion hunts, search for lost livestock and reinforce livestock enclosures called bomas. Joseph Dendu enjoying the Games, just hours after stopping a traditional lion hunt. Photo: Ruaha Carnivore

Posted by: Snow Leopard Trust, a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife Hello, snow leopard! A remote camera detected this elusive animal in the Shamshy Wildlife Sanctuary, Kyrgyzstan. Photo by SLF Kyrgyzstan / Snow Leopard Trust / SAEPF Researchers have captured the elusive snow leopard on camera in Shamshy, Kyrgyzstan, the first evidence that a bold strategy to transform a former hunting reserve into a protected wildlife preserve is working. Through a new, innovative conservation program piloted by Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, Woodland Park Zoo, Snow Leopard Foundation Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz Department of Hunting and Natural Resource Management, the 100 square mile area of Shamsy in Kyrgyzstan’s northern Tian Shan mountains was converted from a hunting concession to a co-managed nature reserve in 2015. Shamsy is home to ibex and seasonal populations of argali and wolves. It lies within a large snow leopard landscape, and has the potential to become a key part of the

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor with Gigi Allianic, Communications Team Oily Palms, Seattle Zoohackathon winners. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Team Oily Palms gave a helping hand to wildlife this weekend with Seattle Zoohackathon's winning solution, a citizen science tool that empowers locals to report deforestation activity such as illegal logging and fires. This people-minded solution was the perfect embodiment of what Zoohackathon is all about: tapping into the community to bring new eyes to old problems and innovate solutions that advance the ongoing efforts of NGOs, governments, and organizations like Woodland Park Zoo committed to ending wildlife trafficking. The first event of its kind, this weekend's Zoohackathon took place simultaneously at six leading conservation technology zoos around the world: Woodland Park Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo, London Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo. The winning solutions f