Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Porcupine baby, Marty, and her stick. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. When you’re a porcupine baby, if you've got a stick, you've got a party. VIDEO: Baby porcupine chews on sticks. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Look for our 8-week-old female porcupette, Marty, on exhibit in the Northern Trail. You'll see her there with mom, Molly. The two are doing well!

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications, with Sue Andersen, Zookeeper It seems like every time we do a spider story, someone gets mad at us for having to see these creatures on their screen. But we’re going to help you learn to love spiders, starting with these baby golden orb weavers seen here at just one hour old! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Spiders are good people. We talked with zookeeper, Sue Andersen, to get the scoop on these amazing critters on the occasion of the third egg case hatching in Bug World in the past two weeks. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Seen here are golden orb weaver spiderlings, fresh out of their egg case. According to Sue, “spiders actually develop from eggs into what is termed post-embryos (affectionately called ‘eggs with legs’ by arachnologists!) within the safety of their egg case. By the time they emerge from their egg case, they are first instar (or stage) as these guys and gals are. At this stage they are looking

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications This is a tale of two joeys: A 7-month-old wallaby who is just emerging from its mother’s pouch… Wallaby joey peeks out of the pouch. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. …and a nearly 4-month-old wallaroo who is giving us a whole new perspective on what goes on inside the pouch. What we've seen will amaze you.  Let’s take a closer look at the developmental stages of the two joeys.  Wallaby Joey Emerges A hand, an ear, a nose—for the last few months, we have kept a close eye out for any sign of the latest wallaby joey emerging from its mother’s pouch. Born the size of a lima bean back in October, our newest wallaby joey has finally begun to peek out! Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. You can see it still has quite a bit of developing left to do. Soon the joey will grow in a furry coat and spend more time peeking out. As we head into summer, we’ll see the baby eventually begin to take litt

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Celebrate moms of all species with us at the 24th annual Mom & Me presented by Verity Credit Union , Sat., May 10, 2014, 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Moms get half off admission during the event and families can look for fun activities throughout the day, including live performances on the North Meadow, keeper talks focused on wildlife moms, and a scavenger hunt that could win you a flight tour for two from Kenmore Air! Ready to round up the family and plan an outing? Send a free Mother's Day e-card to make your plans. Here's just a little taste of the e-card designs you can choose from:

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Baby Solomon Island leaf frogs. Photo by Alyssa Borek/Woodland Park Zoo. Solomon Island leaf frogs,  Ceratobatrachus guentheri ,  also known as triangle frogs, are a very special type of amphibian because they go through their tadpole stage inside the egg, hatching as completely formed froglets. The juvenile frogs emerge from their eggs as fully developed frogs in a process called direct development. Instead of spending their first days as a tadpole, or polliwog, these frogs are hatched ready to leap! The tiny frogs grow very quickly, starting at only an eighth of an inch when they emerge. They eat very small insects until they are large enough to transition to an adult diet of arthropods and larger insects, and even smaller reptiles and amphibians. The little froglets practice ambushing tiny insects, a behavior they will use later to pounce on any prey that happens to wander through their territory. It’s amazing to see these tiny c

Posted by: Gigi Allianic with Rebecca Whitham, Communications She’s got quills, they’re multiplying. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The littlest new addition to Woodland Park Zoo is a female North American porcupine, born April 4 in our Northern Trail exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Porcupine babies, known as porcupettes (seriously), are born with a soft coat of quills that begins to harden within hours of birth. This immediately protects them from predators...and thick gloves immediately protect us from them! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Our porcupette was born to Molly and Oliver, both 3-year-old residents of Northern Trail. This is their second offspring. The baby has access all day and night to the porcupine exhibit, but for now prefers to spend most of her time exploring in a den behind the scenes. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo She grooms herself a lot and is experimenting with different solid foods, like this spec

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications I watch her watch her “prey.” A young family walks the length of the snow leopard exhibit, failing to notice the sly cat prowling in the shadows, just a step behind their line of sight. They are about to walk away from the exhibit when the daughter, maybe 6 years old, turns around and finally spots the snow leopard, coiled up tight like a spring. There is just enough time for her to utter “She looks sleepy,” before the feline pounces toward the fence. Safe on the other side of the barrier, the little girl lets out a wild giggle, a sound mixed with surprise, thrill and then a little embarrassment once she realizes she’s clutching her mom. A young Asha and Shanti on the chase. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. That girl just learned what zoo staff learned long ago—never underestimate Asha and Shanti. Though both snow leopard sisters are blind in one eye, they have developed into playful huntresses. We have watched them overcome

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo Guntur, the infamously over-protective otter dad, has finally let the newest pups take their first steps outside! The four pups—three girls and one boy born in January—have only had a few tiny adventures outdoors so far. Though they step out for only a few minutes at a time, the good news is that dad seems to be getting more comfortable each time. It helps a lot that the pups’ have a dedicated family that also includes mom and four older brothers to show them the way. Sometimes that means moving the pups around… …and sometimes that means letting the pups figure out their own way. The pups aren’t yet the most coordinated little movers, but they’re quite capable of planting themselves into prime snacking position, which we learned when keepers gave them some grubs outdoors. Video: Otter pups venture outdoors. Keep in mind if you’re planning a visit that the otters’ tim

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham and Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Happy almost 1st birthday, Kuwan, Arizona and Inka! Though the official day is March 22, the jaguar cubs got an early treat this morning—birthday piñatas scented in curry and perfume. Following the trail of the enticing scents, the cubs quickly spotted and went after the decorations. Almost immediately “Happy Birthday” became “Happ Birthday” when Kuwan took down the turtle piñata on the end. Predator instincts kicked into full gear as the jaguars stalked, pounced on, and tore into their piñatas. The cubs also smashed and rubbed against the perfumed “Birthday” letters, but spent most of their energy on destroying the turtles. At nearly 1 year old, sisters Inka and Arizona, and their brother, Kuwan, are a lively trio. The young cats’ daily antics include pouncing, prowling and endless play, pausing only to re-energize with cat naps and hearty meals. 

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Four new otter pups at Woodland Park Zoo received a clean bill of health today during their first, hands-on wellness exam. The Asian small-clawed otter pups—three females and one male—were born to 4-year-old mother Teratai and 8-year-old father Guntur on January 20. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo’s newest additions underwent a thorough neonatal exam to check their ears, eyes, mouths and overall development. Each of the otter pups just barely tipped the scales at 1.2-1.5 pounds, a healthy size for their 8-week-old frames. Exam results indicate all four pups are growing healthily as expected. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Since the pups' birth, the parents and four older brothers have all pitched in to build their den nest, provide support and, most recently, teach the pups to swim in a behind-the-scenes pool. Video: Otter pup swim practice behind th