Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications What’s better than one joey? Two joeys! No, not those Joeys. We’re talking baby marsupials! We’re excited to have had two little joeys born at our Australasia exhibit . Our 5-month-old, red-necked wallaby joey is just starting to peek out of its mother’s pouch, and our newborn wallaroo joey has not been seen yet but will start to emerge in June or July. Wallaby joey in its mother’s pouch. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. This is especially exciting news for us as it marks the first wallaby joey born at Woodland Park Zoo, part of our work with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ collaborative Species Survival Plan breeding program. If you come by to look for the wallaby joey, you’ll want to have a bit of patience and a little luck on your side. You’ll be looking for the joey in the pouch of 3-year-old, first time mom Kiley. You can tell her apart by the orange tag on the front of her right ear. You can ide

Posted by: Diane Yoshimi, Zookeeper, with Linda Uyeda, Zookeeper Recently born Chinese crocodile lizard. Photo by Ryan Hawk /Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo recently had two female Chinese crocodile lizards ( Shinisaurus crocodilurus ) give birth to two litters of 11 babies in total. The crocodile lizard is an unusual reptile that gives birth to young after 9 to12 months of gestation. The newborn babies, weighing approximately 4 to 6 grams, are independent at birth and litter size ranges from 1 to 9. Since WPZ acquired a pair in 1993, there have been 70 crocodile lizard offspring born at the zoo. In December 2010 there were 115 individuals living in 22 North American institutions held in a managed program, meaning a studbook keeper recommends which individuals should be bred in order to maintain genetic diversity in the captive population. Adult Chinese crocodile lizard (left) in a tank next to a baby Shinisaurus (right). Photo by Ryan Hawk /Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications For the second year in a row, Asian elephant Chai made her prediction for who will win the Apple Cup. Last year her pick of University of Washington proved accurate when the Huskies won. This year she picked the Washington State University Cougars to win. Do you think her prediction will prove true or will Chai have broken her perfect record of one? The wind and rain this morning didn’t stop a food-seeking Chai from bounding onto the field toward the identical Husky and Cougar treat piles made up of hay, apples, bamboo, football-shaped icepops, papier-mache team helmets and oversized papier-mache apples stuffed with biscuits and more apples. Ignoring the boos from the Husky fans in the crowd, Chai went straight to the Cougar pile first—the action that made her pick of the Cougs official. She munched through much of the Cougar goodies before turning to the Husky pile and snacking on those treats too. Those of us watching tried to f

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Scarves up! Woodland Park Zoo’s animals put their soccer skills to work today as we rallied for the Seattle Sounders FC’s run for the MLS Cup playoffs. The soccer ball kicking exhibition started with Rico, a 4-year-old Sicilian miniature donkey who recently joined the zoo’s Family Farm. Donning a Sounders scarf, Rico skillfully pushed his Sounders soccer ball all around his exhibit using his nose. He used his mouth to get the ball out of the gutter and back onto the playing field. The ref is still out on whether that’s a legal move. Next up was our frisky 2-year-old lion Adia who chased her ball all around the exhibit and even went after it when it splashed into the moat filled with water. It didn’t take long for Adia to crush the ball with her bite and drag it back with her to her rock for safe keeping. Five-year-old snow leopard Tom spent a good 5 minutes first rubbing his fur all over his soccer ball, enticed by the ne

Posted by: Peter S. Miller, Zookeeper “Is it safe to come out yet? Not yet, maybe tomorrow.” These are the thoughts that might arise in the brain of a Louisiana pine snake hatchling. It is a chance decision that could mean your life or death in the wild. Such is the beginning of life for an endangered Louisiana pine snake. Next thoughts: hide or eat. When your serpentine undulations would signal a nearby predator that a tasty meal has just emerged from a clutch of eggs under the soil, stealth is critical…but so is breakfast! As the old adage goes, “eat or be eaten.” The Louisiana pine snake, Pituophis ruthveni , is a species under threat from habitat alteration of its native longleaf pine forest in the southeastern United States. This species has just increased its numbers on planet Earth by two, thanks to hatchlings that emerged late this summer at Woodland Park Zoo’s Day Exhibit. This accomplishment might not sound like much, but when your species is rare in the wild and

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Our youngest African lion ambassador, Adia, turned 2 last week and showed just how frisky and fearless young cats are. The female South African lion dug into her birthday cake specially prepared by zookeeper Matt Mills: a gourmet round of ground turkey stuffed with a whole raw chicken and topped with a pair of drumstick candles. Since Adia scarfed up every morsel and bone, the cake obviously earned a five-drumstick rating. Next, Adia opened her gift box and out rolled a boomer ball, a favorite toy of the 240-pound lion. As kids and families squealed with wonder, Adia put on quite a show “dribbling” the ball throughout the exhibit. She had so much fun that at one moment the ball rolled into the moat filled with water and she dove straight into the water after it! Keep in mind that lions don’t swim and are averse to water. Adia was submerged to her shoulders before realizing she was in the water. She jumped out and, if she had a th

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Our Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey is growing up fast, so we wanted to share some new photos and video and fill you all in on how it is getting along in its behind-the-scenes exhibit. Now eight months old, the joey has begun to leave its mother’s pouch for short bursts, doing a little exploring and then retreating back to the pouch for naps. We do not know the sex of the joey yet so it does not yet have a name. The joey is mostly eating leaves and munches on greens including kale, romaine and celery. Its mother, Elanna, is not so great at sharing, so the joey has learned to go after the food it wants for itself. Elanna and joey are in a behind the scenes exhibit to give them the quiet and comfort this sensitive species requires, especially since Elanna is a first time mother. We’re using cameras and students are assisting us with observations so we can study the interactions between the mother and joey and keep a close

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: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Our little tree kangaroo joey is showing its face a bit more these days. We’re excited to catch and share these glimpses of the joey that is just now starting to emerge from its mother’s pouch at six months—that was a long wait for us to get a peek! A tree kangaroo joey will typically remain in its mother’s pouch for about 10 months. Once out, it’ll continue to return to its mother’s pouch until it is fully weaned, usually at around 13 months. Tree ‘roo mom Elanna is taking good care of the joey and the two are doing well in a quiet, behind-the-scenes exhibit at the zoo. Woodland Park Zoo is home to the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program that is working to protect the endangered tree kangaroo and help maintain the unique biodiversity of its native Papua New Guinea in balance with the culture and needs of human communities. If you’d like to help conserve tree kangaroos, you can go to www.zoo.org/treekangaroo/give , or use your ce

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Exciting news—we’ve made the very first sightings of our Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey! At six months old, the joey is just now beginning to emerge from its mother’s pouch. First the keepers spied only the joey’s ear poking out of the pouch, but within a few days, its whole face emerged. Joey’s face emerges. Photo by Wendy Gardner/Woodland Park Zoo. Born the size of a lima bean in December 2010, the joey has been developing unseen inside its mother’s pouch where it gets nourishment and protection. Tree ‘roo mother, four-year-old Elanna, has been cleaning the joey and providing excellent care. The two are living adjacent to father Huen in a quiet outdoor exhibit behind the scenes at the zoo where keepers can closely monitor the progress of mom and joey. Mother Elanna feeds while joey remains protected in pouch. Photo by Wendy Gardner/Woodland Park Zoo. This rare birth, part of the cooperative breeding Species Survival Plan program fo