Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Today was a big day—30 years in the making—for a lot of little turtles! The public was able to watch as wildlife biologists from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) worked with our staff this morning to prepare these endangered western pond turtles for release into a protected site in the wild. Thirty-seven of them were weighed, measured and notched—a process that doesn’t hurt them at all, where small marks are filed into their shell for identification. Woodland Park Zoo staff and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists talk to the public about the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project . In 1990, there were only about 150 of them left in Washington, and the species—which is native to our region—nearly went extinct. In 1991, Woodland Park Zoo and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlif

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Celebrate Endangered Species Day by learning how you can take part in protecting threatened and endangered species every day of the year! Woodland Park Zoo is home to more than 900 animals, many of which are considered vulnerable, threatened or endangered species. The animals you see when you visit the zoo are ambassadors for their kind: living, breathing reminders of what is at stake in the world and why we need to protect it. As a conservation organization, Woodland Park Zoo supports more than 35 different wildlife conservation projects in the Pacific Northwest and all over the world, helping to protect wildlife on every corner of the planet. No matter where you are on earth, you can help them. These three stories, told from three different continents, prove how. Rhinos in India: A Vision Becomes Reality The largest threat facing rhinos to this day is poaching for their horns. Human development has also destroyed landscapes where rhinos live, l

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We’re jumping for joey over our latest baby reveal—an 8-month-old Matschie’s tree kangaroo! The male joey was born last August to mom Omari and dad Rocket and he weighs two pounds already. His name is Havam which is the word for “tree kangaroo” in one of the many languages of the YUS Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea, home to wild and endangered Matschie’s tree kangaroos. It is normal for marsupials to spend their first months of life completely in their mother’s pouch—so it’s no surprise that Havam is just now starting to venture out and explore. Tree kangaroos are born hairless, blind and only the size of a jelly bean. In order to survive, the joey must quickly crawl from the birth canal, through its mother’s fur and into her pouch to immediately start nursing. At first, Havam did get a little bit too eager to make his debut, explains animal keeper Beth Carlyle-Askew.    “Havam exited Omari’

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Editor's Note: Sadly, after a very full life, we said goodbye to George on May 20, 2021. He was 25 years old—more than 10 years older than the average life expectancy for his species—and he was the oldest goral in the entire population at accredited N. American zoos. His longevity with such a high quality of life is a tribute to all his amazing Woodland Park Zoo caretakers over the years.  At Woodland Park Zoo, our commitment to conservation starts with the 1,000 or so animals who call this place home. No matter what stage of life they’re in, they deserve the very best care—including our seniors, many of whom are still active and healthy well into their golden years. George is a Chinese goral who lives his best retirement life at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Tamlyn Sapp/Woodland Park Zoo Among the oldest, relative to the life expectancy for his species, is one that you might not have ever seen or even heard of. Geng Rui, a.k.a. George, is a

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher and Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Oh, that face! Baby gorilla, Zuna, is ready to say hello to zoo visitors! The 11-week-old western lowland gorilla—the second baby for 25-year-old mom Nadiri and the first between her and 21-year-old father, Kwame, is spending a few hours outdoors each day now with her family. Their time outside in the public space, most likely between 1:45-4:30 pm, is weather-dependent and often takes place in short increments in order to accommodate the baby’s behind-the-scenes bottle-feedings. Nadiri did not immediately pick up her baby after giving birth January 29, so our gorilla keepers initially provided round-the-clock care and bottle feedings of human infant formula while they helped Nadiri build confidence as a mother and bond with her baby . Now the two are back together 24/7 and they are a great team! Nadiri’s bond with Zuna is strong. Gorilla keeper Shawn Bell tells us that Nadir

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We’re so excited to announce the latest additions to our zoo family—the birth of three red ruffed lemur babies on March 29. This is the first lemur birth at Woodland Park Zoo in 16 years. These three bouncing babies were born March 29th to first-time red ruffed lemur mom, Sally. The triplets were born to first-time mom Sally who will turn 5 this summer. There are two adult males in Sally’s group—brothers Orion and Lucien who will be 14 years old next month. We don’t yet know which one is the father of the babies, but that’s not unusual in lemur groups. A genetic test may be done later to learn that. We have not been able to determine the sexes of the babies yet, but quick neonatal exams have confirmed the triplets are thriving; the zoo’s animal health team will continue to perform exams to closely monitor their weight gains. Currently, they range in weight from 6.7 to 7.8 oz., which is within the

 Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications and Stephanie Payne, Gorilla Keeper Zuna, seen here at just about 5 weeks old, is the picture of sweetness—and those eyes are everything! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Note from the Editor: In case you haven’t already heard, our newest gorilla baby has a name ! Little Zuna—which means “sweet” in the African language, Lingala—was  born on January 29th  and is officially 6 weeks old now. She is the second baby and second daughter for 25-year-old mom Nadiri and the first between her and 21-year-old dad Kwame. Nadiri did not immediately hold and nurse her baby after giving birth, so the gorilla keepers have been providing round-the-clock care and bottle feedings of human infant formula. While Nadiri has been showing increasingly skilled maternal care and even  started to nurse Zuna —a wonderful indication of the growing bond between them—we knew that these brief bouts of nursing weren't going to be enough to replace the bott

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications We are happy to announce that the newest member of our gorilla family has a name! The newborn girl, who will be 6 weeks old on Friday, has been named Zuna (zoo-nah), which means “sweet” in the African language, Lingala (lin-gah-lah). Lingala is a Bantu language spoken in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo, two of seven countries that the western lowland gorilla lives in. Zuna will be 6 weeks old on Friday. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Zuna is the second baby for mom Nadiri and the first between her and dad, 21-year-old Kwame. Since Zuna was born, the gorilla keepers have been providing round-the-clock care and supplemental bottle feedings of human infant formula. “Nadiri has been showing good maternal care and while she and Zuna continue to bond, nursing has not been sufficient for proper nourishment,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Z