Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Nadiri is in the final days of her second pregnancy. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Once again, it’s an exciting time for our western lowland gorilla family as the birth watch begins for our next baby. We announced last October that 24-year-old Nadiri is pregnant with her second infant, and her official birth watch is now underway. Technically Nadiri’s due date falls between late January and early February, but without knowing exactly when she became pregnant it is hard to pinpoint a specific date. The gestation period for gorillas is eight to nine months which is similar to humans.  Nadiri is in the final days of her second pregnancy. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The new baby will be the second for both Nadiri and 21-year-old Kwame, but their first together. Nadiri gave birth to Yola, who was sired by Vip, a little more than 5 years ago. Because Nadiri was partially human-raised as an infant and had no exper

Posted by Meghan Sawyer and Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Red-crested turaco chick at four weeks. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo As 2020 draws to a close, Woodland Park Zoo is celebrating an eggstrordinary hatching more than three decades in the making: say hello to the zoo’s red-crested turaco chick, hatched November 16—the first of its species to hatch at the zoo since 1984! The brooder temperature is carefully monitored for the red-crested turaco chick—shown shortly after hatching—to make sure it is comfortable and healthy. Photo: Stephanie Miller/Woodland Park Zoo Months ago, the zoo’s female red-crested turaco laid a couple of eggs. In the past, previous fertile eggs had failed to develop, so this time around our experienced animal care staff decided to incubate the eggs behind-the-scenes and hand-rear any chicks. Hand-rearing a requires precisely timed feedings throughout the day and into the evening, and careful monitoring of brooder temperatures to make sure

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications On the left is one of our snowy owlets a few weeks after hatching. On the right, one of those same youngsters now. Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren (L) and Susan Burchardt (R)/Woodland Park Zoo  Oh what a difference four months can make! This past July, we welcomed a pair of snowy owl chicks to our zoo family—the first hatching of this species at Woodland Park Zoo in nine years. And these wide-eyed youngsters—a brother and sister—are already the same size as their parents!  Male snowy owl, Dusty, is the father of our four-month old pair. Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo Female, June, is a fierce first-time mama! Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo First-time parents, mom June and dad Dusty were paired under the Snowy Owl Species Survival Plan, which is a cooperative, conservation breeding program to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population for at-risk species. They live with their brood in the Northern Trail habitat where th

 Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications and Susan Burchardt, Animal Keeper We'd like to introduce you to a few of Woodland Park Zoo’s own Superheroes. No capes needed here because these particular heroes are already expert fliers. We’ll take a closer look and examine some of their unique superpowers, investigate what threats they face in nature—their “Kryptonite” so to speak—and fill you in on how you can visit with them at Woodland Park Zoo or in some cases, see their cousins around the wild spaces of our Pacific Northwest! Read all about them, then take our raptor quiz and find out which Superhero you are most like!  Modoc, the handsome turkey vulture. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo Superhero: Modoc the Turkey vulture Superpower: Iron stomach! Vultures have strong stomachs that can neutralize all kinds of dangerous germs and bacteria—which helps minimize the spread of disease to other animals and to people. Kryptonite/Threats: Toxins in their (and our) environment. E

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Egyptian tortoises are critically endangered. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Every now and then, the world’s tiniest creatures show they have something big to teach us, if we’re willing to listen. Such is the case for the Egyptian tortoise. This critically endangered species, one of the world’s smallest tortoises, faces intense pressure in the wild. They’re native to the desert bordering the Mediterranean Sea and were once found in Libya, Egypt and Israel. Now, they’re isolated to small patches of territory in Libya and are considered extinct in the rest of their territory. Habitat destruction and human encroachment, including the illegal pet trade, are to blame. But there is hope, in the form of tiny hatchlings that weigh about as much as a couple nickels.  Woodland Park Zoo is proud to be a leader in the successful breeding and rearing of Egyptian tortoises. We work under the direction of the Species Survival Plan (known as t

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications and Katie Remine, Field Conservation Can you spot the amphibian in the photo below? We'll give you some clues: it's native to the Pacific Northwest, grows to be about two inches long, is mostly nocturnal, loves the dampness of our area and is the official Washington State amphibian! This Pacific tree frog has perfect camouflage to blend with damp, wet forest leaves. Photo: Diana Koch/Woodland Park Zoo Amphibian Monitoring Volunteer Did you find the northern Pacific tree frog ? They are hard to spot when they aren't on the move, since they're perfectly adapted to blend into their (and our) PNW environment. This frog species can even morph to change color to match their environment depending on the season. Hello, little buddy! Photo: Diana Koch/Woodland Park Zoo Amphibian Monitoring Volunteer The presence of amphibians—such as frogs, toads, salamanders and newts—is an indication of a healthy ecosystem. They are

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos and video by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren Kitoko, seen here with mom Uzumma, is 6 months old now.  It’s time for an update on our wonderful western lowland gorilla family, with the latest scoop from dedicated gorilla keepers, Stephanie and Judy! We wanted to start with the newest family member, little Kitoko. The 6-month-old baby boy—born to Uzumma and Kwame on March 4—is doing great and keeping his mama on her toes. You may recall that he was injured in a family scuffle several months ago, but he has recovered from that and continues to be right on track with physical and developmental milestones. 6-month-old Kitoko is bright-eyed and curious. He can often be seen reaching for and grasping everything he can get his hands on, including pieces of solid food that Uzumma may have dropped.  Bright-eyed and curious about everything around him, our awesome gorilla keepers tell us Kitoko seems to already recognize his name—looking tow

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications A spur-winged lapwing chick stands next to one of its parents. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Say hello to the newest members of our zoo family. These young birds that look like cotton balls on stilts are spur-winged lapwing chicks. The name is quite a big mouthful for such little cuties … and their hatching is a first for this species here at Woodland Park Zoo. Their sexes haven’t been determined yet. Spur-winged lapwings are all legs—as seen here on this chick. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Spur-winged lapwings are wading birds that can be found on the shores of a variety of habitats including marshes, mudflats and lakes. In nature, this species is native to the sub-Saharan belt across central Africa but are also found in some Middle Eastern and east Mediterranean countries, including Turkey. While not endangered, this species does face threats from loss of their wetland habitats related to