Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Our sweetest Chinta. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Our sweet Chinta passed away peacefully this morning, just one day shy of her 52nd birthday. She was the oldest animal currently living at Woodland Park Zoo and one of the oldest orangutans in North America. We will miss her presence immensely.  The red-haired beauty was the last remaining animal born at Woodland Park Zoo in the 1960s who had lived at the zoo her entire lifetime. Chinta and her late twin brother Towan were born here in February 1968. Towan passed away in 2016. Chinta and Towan, twin orangutans born at Woodland Park Zoo in 1968. Worldwide, the twin orangutans gained instant celebrity status as the first-known twin orangutans born in a zoo. Photos of the pair as infants appeared around the globe, including in “Life” magazine. While other twins have since been born, twin orangutan births are a rare occurrence. Chinta, who was easily recognizabl

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher with Stephanie Jacobs 12-year-old Uzumma is pregnant with her first baby. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo In part one of this blog, gorilla keeper Stephanie Jacobs told us how first-time expectant-mother Uzumma is doing and filled us in on all the work that happens behind the scenes to prepare for a gorilla pregnancy. So let’s pick up the conversation with questions about getting ready for a birth and everything that comes next. WPZ: Thanks again, Stephanie for giving us a behind-the-scenes peek into the gorilla unit. So what happens while we all wait for this baby to be born? Obviously you and the other keepers are watching and waiting, but what else needs to happen before a baby arrives? Stephanie: So much happens! Really, we’re all over-the-moon excited [about Uzumma’s pregnancy by Kwame], but there is a lot to do. To begin with, keepers and the Animal Health Department make sure Uzumma’s BMP (birth management plan) is all ready to go. This

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher with Stephanie Jacobs Uzumma, who is pregnant with her first baby due next spring, is doing really well! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We recently announced that Uzumma, our 12-year-old western lowland gorilla, is expecting her first baby next March. The father is 20-year-old Kwame and this baby will be their first offspring together. Kwame arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2018 following the unexpected death of Leonel . The absence of a silverback (a male leader and protector) can be very destabilizing for a gorilla family, but Kwame’s confident leadership has unified the whole family group over this last year—enabling Uzumma and her whole troop to be ready for this exciting new chapter. We chatted with animal keeper Stephanie Jacobs to find out how our gorilla team prepares for a gorilla pregnancy and why they think Uzumma has what it takes to be a great first-time mother. Kwame—silverback of the family, and father of Uzumma&#

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Heeeeeere's Bumi! This handsome Malayan male tiger is getting comfortable behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Courtesy of Audubon Zoo Today is July 29, Global Tiger Day! To celebrate, we give you the first glimpses of our new boy, Bumi (pronounced Boom-y). This strappingly striped 9-year-old recently arrived here from Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and he is currently getting comfortable with his new digs behind-the-scenes at the zoo’s Malayan Tiger habitat in Banyan Wilds. Stay tuned for when he makes his debut later this summer. In the meantime, you can still see our other Malayan tigers, Olan and Eko, in the habitat area. Adult tigers are usually solitary (except a mother with cubs) so you’ll likely see one of them at a time.  "Are you looking at me?" Bumi is chillin' behind the scenes, getting ready for his debut. Photo: Carolyn Sellar/Woodland Park Zoo All subspecies of tigers are critically e

Posted by Barbara Segal, Intern, Communications Photo by Mike Patterson It takes a village to save a butterfly. Our zoo community’s mission includes saving wildlife near and far, and to save the Oregon silverspot butterfly we team up with many dedicated organizations of wildlife experts and activists. This beautiful and important pollinator once fluttered among flowers in Washington and across the west coast, but now is only found in isolated patches in Oregon and northern California. Threatened by habitat loss and invasive species, the silverspot butterfly needs our help. This means everyone from government agencies to you, our zoo community! Working together, we can bring this the silverspot butterfly back from the brink.  The first leg of the relay began when the U.S. Department of the Interior declared the silverspot butterfly threatened in 1980. This put the wheels in motion for conservation efforts, and in 1982 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created a recovery p

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Meet Marai! Photo by Elena Mavros, @greekgal.esm via Instagram You may have noticed a new furry face—plus some new spots, paws and a long tail—at the snow leopard exhibit over the past few months. Say hello to Marai. This 2-year-old female was born at Los Angeles Zoo in 2017 and arrived here at Woodland Park Zoo earlier this year.  Marai is sweet, sociable with her keepers and likes knuckle bones! Photo by Elena Mavros, @greekgal.esm via Instagram While she’s not quite mature enough to breed yet, it is hoped that Marai will eventually pair up with Aibek , who is her same age and was born here in 2017. The Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP), a conservation breeding program for endangered animals at accredited zoos, has matched these two cats as a recommended breeding pair in another year or so. Other than making adorable cubs, the goal of SSP programs like this is to increase the genetic diversity and health of species

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo A Western pond turtle that has grown up at Woodland Park Zoo is ready to return to the wetlands of Washington state. Woodland Park Zoo is proud to be part of the W estern Pond Turtle Recovery Project . Western pond turtles were once plentiful up and down the coast of Washington to northern California and down to Baja, Mexico. However, loss of habitat, commercial exploitation for food, disease, drought, and introduced predators, such as bullfrogs and large-mouth bass, have decimated populations of the species. More than 1,000 released pond turtles are thriving at protected sites in our state. By the early 1990s, only about 150 Western pond turtles remained in two populations in Washington state and the species was nearly extirpated from our region. In 1991, Woodland Park Zoo joined forces with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to recover Western pond turtles by initiat