Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications A lemur guards its pumpkin while snacking. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.  At the annual Pumpkin Bash presented by Delta Dental/Washington Dental Service , there is pumpkin bashing, and also pumpkin smashing. There's pumpkin chomping and definitely some pumpkin stomping. This pumpkin came pre-pecked for the penguins. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. The fun continues this weekend with our final two days of the event, Sat. - Sun., Oct. 27 & 28 . See how each animal tears into its Halloween treats and get some treats of your own with trick-or-treating for the little ones. Plus, one child 12 years and under in costume is admitted FREE with a paid adult during Pumpkin Bash. A wolf delicately opens its jack-o-lantern. What happens next isn't so delicate. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The pumpkins are part of the zoo’s excellent animal care program to help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animal

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Pike Place Market. Fishmongers. Salmon. Grizzly bears. Woodland Park Zoo. Rain. This isn’t a game of Pacific Northwest word association—it’s a recipe for a rockin’ good time down at the Northern Trail this morning! Our friends from world famous Pike Place Fish Market brought their signature fish-tossing skills to our grizzly bear exhibit today at a media teaser for this Saturday’s Bear Affair presented by Brown Bear Car Wash event. The fishmongers planted themselves safely at the edge of the exhibit—a massive moat stood between them and the bears, don’t worry!—and got to tossing while grizzly brothers Keema and Denali looked on. The first few tosses of the 6-pound salmon were just for practice, though the bears seemed like they were hoping for a slip-up that would land a salmon in their direction. But once the rhythm got going among the fishmongers—tossing the salmon over the heads of dozens of school chil

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications 4/27 UPDATE: If you are having trouble getting www.zoo.org to load, you can buy your tickets directly at this link .  BECU ZooTunes presented by Carter Subaru returns for its 29th season and another exciting line-up! The popular concerts are held outdoors on the vast, picturesque North Meadow of Woodland Park Zoo. The new season kicks off June 27:  June 27 - Leo Kottke / Jake Shimabukuro ($24)  July 3 - k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang ($38)  July 18 - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals ($22)  July 19 - Ziggy Marley ($28)  Aug 1 - Los Lobos / Steve Earle and the Dukes ($28) Aug 5 - The Johnny Clegg Band / Ladysmith Black Mambazo ($28) Aug 12 - An Evening With Melissa Etheridge ($39.50) Aug 15 & 16 - An Evening With Pink Martini ($34)   Aug 22 - Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue / Robert Randolph & the Family Band ($26)  Aug 29 - Rosanne Cash / Madeleine Peyroux ($26) BECU ZooTunes presented by Carter Subaru

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Happy Leap Day to you on this Wonderfully Wild Wednesday ! A clucking frog? During the breeding season, the Oregon spotted frog’s call is a series of clucking noises. We’re doing our part to keep them clucking. At Woodland Park Zoo, we raise Oregon spotted frogs until they are large enough to survive on their own, then release them into protected wetlands here in Washington. The Leap Day celebration continues at the zoo today and Sat., March 3 . We’re celebrating amphibian conservation success stories through frog-themed crafts, keeper chats on frogs and amphibians, puppet shows and interactive activities. Hear from national experts, including our curator of herpetology, Dr. Jennifer Pramuk, about what is being done to save amphibians. Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society members also will be on hand to discuss frogs and other amphibians. On March 3, kids ages 3-12 dressed in green or other frog-themed gear will receive

Posted by: Matt Mills, Zookeeper Did you know that rhinos used to roam wild in the United States? There were even water rhinos that would swim in the lakes of central Washington! Six million years ago, during the Miocene, there were over 50 species of rhinoceros around the world! Today, five species are still alive, but their numbers are dwindling and they will only continue to exist if we act quickly. Have you ever thought about what you could do to help? Baby and mother white rhinos at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya. (Photo by Matt Mills) The zookeepers and staff of Woodland Park Zoo care about rhinos. The Puget Sound chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) is having a bowling party and fundraiser for these special animals at Spin Alley in Shoreline on May 10, and you are invited to join us! AAZK began Bowling for Rhinos in 1991 as a way for chapters to raise funds for conservation and increase awareness of current rhino populations’ challenges. In th

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Despite the fact that I’m still munching on leftover Halloween candy, I know the holiday season has arrived now that our Enrichment Giving Trees for the animals are going up and our zookeepers’ annual holiday gift auction is coming this Fri., Nov. 18. Holiday Auction If you are looking for an extraordinary gift that you can’t buy online or from a mall, check out Woodland Park Zoo’s Holiday Silent Auction this Friday to bid on a host of cool gifts including behind-the-scenes animal tours. You’ll get to pick from unforgettable experiences like going behind the scenes to watch an elephant bath, taking a photo with a raptor, or meeting an orangutan up close. The silent auction is put on by the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (PS-AAZK) and will take place inside the zoo’s Education Center (near the South Entrance) on Fri., Nov. 18. Guaranteed bidding will be from noon to 2:00 p.m., and the silent auction

Posted by: Nora Venne, Education Our look at the life of 5-year-olds continues in honor of Zoomazium’s big 5th birthday . In this post, zookeepers shed some light on what life is like for a 5-year-old snow leopard . Q: Human children at age 5 are still very young and completely dependent on their families for care. Give us a brief description of what life looks like for a snow leopard. Is age 5 young or older for this animal? A: At 3 years of age, our male snow leopard Tom had all ready consummated a relationship and at 4 years of age he was a father of two! Next year at age 5 he will once again hopefully father more children. Cats mature very quickly. In captivity snow leopards can live to be 18, although some live longer and a very few live to 21. Scientists are still researching how long snow leopards live in the wild but a domestic housecat would be considered in its upper 30s in human years when it was 5. Q: For humans, kindergarten is just starting at age 5. Some

Posted by: Nora Venne, Education Happy 5th birthday, Zoomazium ! We’re celebrating 5 years of child’s play in Zoomazium with a look this week at what it means to be 5 for humans and different animals. Then the party continues this Saturday and Sunday , Nov. 5 and 6, with cupcakes, live entertainment and birthday-themed activities at Zoomazium including enrichment treats for some of the zoo’s notable 5-year-old residents. In this blog post, we spoke with penguin keepers at Woodland Park Zoo to learn more about what it is like to be 5 years old for a Humboldt penguin .   Q: Human children at age 5 are still very young and completely dependent on their families for care. Give us a brief description of what life looks like for a penguin. Is age 5 young or older for this animal?   A: Humboldt penguins are much further along in their maturity by age 5 than humans are. That’s because the average life span of a Humboldt penguin is around 20 – 25 years in the wild; 25 – 30 year

Posted by: Susan Burchardt, Raptor Keeper Turkey vulture Modoc in flight at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Vultures are often depicted as harbingers of death, yet many vulture populations face threats of their own with some species facing extinction. We’re celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day on September 3 to help zoo visitors look past the vultures’ bad reputation and highlight their vital ecological niche as nature’s clean-up crew. California condor at San Diego Zoo. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Snowmanradio. Vultures are scavenging birds that help recycle and prevent the spread of disease. But serving as a clean-up crew by feeding on carrion was partially what led to the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)—a New World vulture—dipping down to a dismally low population of just 22 birds in the 1980s. The condors were dying from feeding on lead-poisoned carcasses, and poaching and habitat destruction compounded the problem. Zoos

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Keema and Denali stop to sniff each other after rolling around in coffee grounds. Keema and Denali may not have known the world was watching, but they still put on quite the show Wednesday when we broadcast a special bear enrichment session through our newly relaunched Bear Cam . The 17-year-old grizzly bear brothers received beehive and hornet’s nest-shaped piñatas Wednesday. While it took staff almost a week to put the piñatas together, it took the bears just minutes to destroy them! Inside the beehive piñatas, the bears found some of their favorite fruit treats including honeydew, apples, grapes and pears. The hornet’s nest contained a pocket of honey that the bears lapped up. Coffee grounds : bears :: catnip : cats Scattered around the space were coffee grounds from Caffé Vita . Why coffee grounds? Since the bears have a strong sense of smell, such a pungent treat is extremely attractive and stimulating to them. The b

Posted by: Pattie Beaven, Zookeeper Clockwise from top left: Keeper Laura McComsky works with a giraffe (photo by Brittney Bollay/Woodland Park Zoo), keeper Celine Pardo works with Humboldt penguins (photo by Matt Hagen), and keeper Edgar Fortune works with red ruffed lemurs (photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.) The zookeeper’s profession by nature occurs mostly behind the scenes, so it can be hard for us keepers to find time outside of Woodland Park Zoo’s regularly scheduled Keeper Chats to meet and talk with zoo visitors. That’s why, in celebration of National Zoo Keeper Week, the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers hosted two days of activities here at Woodland Park Zoo where a zookeeper was available throughout the day to answer visitor questions about what it is like to be a keeper and what we do on a daily basis to care for the more than 1,000 animals that call Woodland Park Zoo home. As part of the activities out on zoo grounds, we set up a t

Posted by: Jenny Mears, Education One overcast day in November 2007, I embarked on a boat tour of the Duwamish River to learn more about the natural, cultural and political history of this local Superfund site . While cruising from Harbor Island to Turning Basin—the northern to the southern limits of the Superfund designation—I learned how this river transformed from an estuary with thousands of acres of tidal flats and riparian habitat to an industrial site in which less than two percent of natural habitat remains. From my guide, a representative of Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, I also learned about the amazing alliance of communities, tribes, environmental organizations and businesses involved in cleanup and outreach efforts, including habitat restoration events, festivals, and youth programs. I also got to hear the incredibly inspiring story of John Beal, a Vietnam veteran who, after being told he had four months to live due to heart problems, decided to use that time to c

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Even the animals will have a blast over the Fourth of July weekend with our annual Red, White & Zoo enrichment event, presented by Zookeeper and Columbia Pictures. Before you get your grill going, celebrate with us this Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and see meerkats , grizzlies , orangutans , hippos and many more animals enjoying a Fourth of July picnic featuring a menu of star-shaped popsicles, watermelons and even corn on the cob! The Fourth of July-themed treats are part of the excellent animal care program at Woodland Park Zoo and the zookeepers’ ongoing efforts to help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and engage zoo visitors. Here’s the full schedule of activities for the two days: Willawong Station - 10am-2:30pm Sow bugs (Bug World) - morning/afternoon Anoas - 10am Hippos - 10:30 a.m. Tigers - 11 a.m. Golden li