Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications For Woodland Park Zoo, 2009 was a year of notable births, conservation milestones, and a few firsts. Here’s my personal pick of the top 9 zoo stories from 2009, in no particular order--some fun, some inspirational, and some just cute. What were your favorite zoo stories this year? 1. Creating Papua New Guinea’s first Conservation Area 2. Penguins take their first swim 3. Snow leopard twins born to first-time mom 4. How do you exercise flamingo chicks? 5. Zoo hatches a cottonball…err, tawny frogmouth chick 6. Endangered Oregon spotted frogs released into the wild 7. Zoo staff and community team up to restore local habitat 8. Introducing the world’s first GPS-enabled zoo iPhone app 9. Animals get their own downtown art show, critics go wild

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Snow leopard cubs Batu and the newly named Gobi ( thanks to your 35,000 votes !) made their public debut this past Saturday during Woodland Park Zoo’s 3rd annual Snow Leopard Day event. Watch the cubs take some of their first steps into the exhibit and explore the new sights and smells. If you want to see them in person, the cubs are typically given access to the exhibit from noon to 3:00 p.m. daily. Video by Ryan Hawk.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Check out this video filmed today with zookeepers Deanna Ramirez and Pat Owen weighing and checking the male and female snow leopard cubs born at the zoo on May 25, 2009. Turn the volume up to hear the sound of the cubs! The cubs are growing at a steady rate and their mother is continuing to provide great care. Right now mom and cubs are behind the scenes in a quiet area where they can bond and develop with minimal disturbance. This birth, part of the Species Survival Plan for this endangered species, is an important step for snow leopard conservation helping to increase genetic diversity. Woodland Park Zoo also helps protect snow leopards in the wild through our work with The Snow Leopard Trust , a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife. Video by Ryan Hawk.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Woodland Park Zoo celebrated a significant achievement on Memorial Day: the birth of snow leopard cubs, a male and a female! We had a chance to take some photos today when zoo veterinarians performed a neonatal examination on the cubs as part of the excellent animal and medical care program at the zoo. They’ve been given a clean bill of health! Dr. Kelly Helmick, Associate Veterinarian, told us that the cubs are healthy and the maternal care appears to be very good. The male weighed in at 4 lbs and the female at 3.6 lbs today. The 3-week-old cubs represent the first offspring for both the 4-year-old mother, Helen, and 3-year-old father, Tom. This is an important achievement for conservation as well—the cubs’ birth is part of our work with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan to bolster the genetic diversity of this endangered species. Woodland Park Zoo participates in 39 Species Survival Plans, which also involve coll