Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications You can still call him “cutie,” but our nearly 8-foot-tall, 7-week-old baby giraffe  now has an official name: Misawa (me-SAW-wah). Misawa at one month old. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. The name was selected by the current class of Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine students. The zoo works with the WSU program to mentor the next generation of wildlife veterinarians. What better way to honor that connection than by letting them name one of the most beloved ambassadors of the next generation of zoo animals? Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. The students chose the name Misawa, a common greeting in an indigenous Luo language from Tanzania and southwest Kenya, to honor the giraffe’s native range. It’s an especially fitting connection, given the school’s dedication to human and wildlife health through their Global Animal Health programs in east Africa, a region native to giraffes like Misawa.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Looks like our baby giraffe spotted the web cam in his barn. His curious licks were caught in extreme close up on the cam—check out that tongue! Video: Baby giraffe webcam taste-a-thon The cam was always safely secured, but it sure did take a licking! The camera sits securely inside a cutout in the wall just below the giraffe feeder. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Some of our dedicated giraffe cam viewers even caught him in the act while watching live: We'd love to know what you see when you tune into the giraffe baby cam . Send your best screenshots and observations to webkeeper@zoo.org , tweet or Instagram to @woodlandparkzoo (#giraffecam), or post to our Facebook timeline .  And of course, don't miss the chance to see the calf in person! He has access to the outdoor area of the giraffe barn daily, and tends to head out there mid-mornings through afternoons. We know the next big piece of news you

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The giraffe calf has grown nearly a foot since his birth 3 weeks ago, towering in at just about 7 feet tall now. But there’s another tell-tale sign of growth to look for: the formation of the calf’s ossicones. Notice mom’s fully formed ossicones and the little ones just starting to take shape on baby’s head. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Ossicones are the horn-like protuberances giraffes sport on their heads. They are formed from ossified cartilage (cartilage that has transformed into bone) and covered in skin and fur. Remember what looked like a little tuft of hair on baby when he was first born? One-day-old giraffe with flat ossicones. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Those were his little ossicones, all flat and barely developed. But over the weeks they have begun to harden. You can see in these pictures at one-week-old how the ossicones are beginning to take shape. One-week-old ossicones, the profile v

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Mom Olivia and aunt Tufani give the little calf some tender attention. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. At just 1 week old, Woodland Park Zoo’s male baby giraffe has become an overnight sensation, and now, it just gets better. Giraffe fans can get their daily fix of the tallest baby in Seattle through a live 24/7 animal cam , courtesy of Dropcam. The live cam is installed behind the scenes in the giraffe barn and allows the public to watch the calf nursing, bonding with mom and doing what babies do…sleep. The best viewing times for the live cam are between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. PST. The baby giraffe was born August 6 to 6-year-old Olivia, a first-time mom. Born at 6 feet tall, he now stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and continues to thrive under the care of his mom. Olivia has been an excellent mom and the baby’s progressing on the mark. He’s playful and is beginning to sample hay, grain and leaves, which you can sometimes vie

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo It’s a boy! Our giraffe calf got his first check-up with the zoo’s vet team yesterday and he is healthy and doing well. Keepers stand on the scale with the giraffe calf. Weighing the calf was an interesting exercise. First, we placed a towel over his head to eliminate distractions and keep him calm during the exam. Then four keepers walked onto the scale with the calf to help him stay in place long enough to get an accurate measurement. Subtract the combined weight of the keepers, and you've got a weight for the calf—144 pounds! Measuring the calf's height. We broke out the measuring tape and discovered our calf is even taller than we first estimated, measuring in at 6 feet. Mom watched the whole exam and remained calm and comfortable. Blood tests from the exam show that the calf is nursing normally and that mom Olivia is passing on necessary antibodies and proteins through he

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Standing in front of its mother about 13 hours after birth.  Woodland Park Zoo’s newest little one is in fact quite big: taller than some of its zookeepers, even! Welcome to the world a 5½-foot-tall giraffe, born to 6-year-old mom Olivia last night, August 6 at 7:03 p.m. The labor lasted about 1.5 hours and the little one was already standing just another 1.5 hours after birth. This is the face we've been waiting for! Zookeepers were on watch round the clock, and were able to hit record on our video camera just in time to catch the labor begin after a 14- to 15-month gestation period. Olivia wandered in and out of frame, and this video shows the breathtaking moments we were able to catch, from the baby emerging feet first, to its earliest moments after birth, including first efforts at trying to stand. The calf is standing, nursing from mom and bonding with her, all good si

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The question on everyone's mind is: who will give birth first—the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Phinney Ridge? Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo's own duchess, 6-year-old Rothschild’s giraffe Olivia, is expected to give birth any day now. With a gestation period of 14 to 15 months, Olivia’s window to give birth is pretty wide—it began June 24 and closes August 12, explained Martin Ramirez, a curator at the zoo. Olivia’s belly is pretty big and she’s carrying low so we expect a calf any day. Zookeepers are keeping a close watch for signs of labor which may include restlessness, loss of appetite, or biting or licking her flanks. We will bring Olivia into the barn and mobilize a 24-hour birth watch at the first sign of labor, and we also have a den cam installed in the barn to monitor the new family. The last viable birth of a giraffe at the zoo was in 1997. There’s a lot of excitement at the zoo for this

Posted by: African Savanna zookeepers Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Chioke means “gift from above” and our big male giraffe was exactly that. He came to Woodland Park Zoo from Oakland Zoo in the spring of 2007, and right away you could tell he was a special guy. His full name is Chioke Biton Amani McKinley, though he had the nickname Toaster (as in the Brave Little Toaster) because he had health issues to overcome from when he was very young. Sadly, Chioke continued to have intermittent health concerns, and he passed away last month. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. It usually takes an animal a while to start to show trust in its keepers, but right from the get go Chioke, and his brother Kipande, showed great interest in what their keepers were up to, and that continued through his last days with us. Chioke’s willingness to interact with both the keepers and the public is what made him a fixture of our giraffe experience every year. Chioke met and connect

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Giraffes have the largest eyes of any land mammal.  Photo by Brittney Bollay/Woodland Park Zoo.   Other animals on the savanna use giraffes as watchtowers — with their height and keen vision, giraffes are often the first to spot predators.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications A giraffe's tongue is over 18 inches long and dark in color, most likely to prevent it from being sunburned as it strips leaves out in the savanna sun. You can see these adaptations up close when you participate in one of our unforgettable  Giraffe Feeding Experiences ! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Walter Dupree, Animal Collections Manager On June 23, Woodland Park Zoo became home to another significant addition…a bouncing eleven-month-old female giraffe named Tufani. She came to us from Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. For those that remember, this is the same zoo that sent us Olivia, our other female giraffe . In fact, Tufani and Olivia are half sisters. And no, they don’t seem to recognize each other, but with giraffe, you never know. Like Olivia, Tufani is a Rothschild’s giraffe also known as Baringo or Lado giraffe. Although she is not a Reticulated giraffe like our males, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan manages them as one sub species so we have future breeding recommendations already. But don’t expect to see any infant giraffe running on the savanna anytime soon as our girls are still a bit young. If you’ve never seen a giraffe shipment before, it’s an interesting undertaking. I bet a few of you are wondering how we ge

Posted by: Walter Dupree, Animal Collections Manager A new female giraffe arrived at Woodland Park Zoo last Friday. Born February 27, 2007, she’s not quite two yet, coming to us from Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri. (Photo: The giraffe arrives in the trailer.) The giraffe arrived early Friday morning after a three day trip and was quite feisty when we were unloading her from the trailer, letting us know she wanted out. And we all felt that was a good sign! (Photo: The trailer is backed up to the loading chute) For those that know the giraffe barn—the indoor space where the giraffes are kept when not out on the African Savanna—there is a load/unload chute at the back end of the barn. The animal transporter positioned the trailer in which the giraffe arrived against the transfer chute, opened the door, and after just a few hesitant seconds, she walked out of the trailer and right into the barn…just as if she had been here all her life! (Photo: The giraffes show interest in each other.)

Last summer, the zoo introduced a new up-close animal experience for visitors---Giraffe Feeding! More than 16,000 people took advantage of this special encounter, feeding the giraffes leafy browse from an elevated platform. We're again offering this unique experience, a favorite for both kids and adults to be close to these amazing giants of the African savanna. Participants get to see the giraffes' purplish-black nearly two-foot long tongues as they wrap around a branch to strip off their favorite leaves and witness their luxurious eyelashes. Keepers are on-hand to help out and reveal the fascinating details about giraffe natural history and how they are cared for here. So ask lots of questions! Giraffe feedings will be held twice daily until September 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and again from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $5.00 per person; free for kids 2 years and under. Photo by Ryan Hawk

Giraffes are one of the most popular animals at the zoo, being recognizable to the youngest of kids. During summer 2007 we offered, for the first time, the opportunity for people to feed the giraffes up close. Using their favorite leafy branches, this gave a chance for people to view these magnificent animals "face to tongue" as it were as one of their most notable features is their nearly two-foot long purplish-black tongues. It really provides a lot of impact to see them this close. Something no TV program could ever hope to match! We hope to resume giraffe feedings in May 2008. Thanks to Chris Zempel for sending this great photo of two of our giraffes.

Staff and volunteers were saddened when Sukari , the elderly female giraffe on our African Savanna exhibit, had to be euthanized due to declining health because of age. At 25, she was extremely geriatric (giraffes in the wild usually live to be 10-15 years). Our expert Exhibits crew helped make her passing more comfortable by rigging a special platform for her to lay in. She had also had a custom-made waterbed for the last four years for her to lie down on. Keepers and the Animal Health team have been instrumental over the last few years to keep Sukari as comfortable as possible during her "golden years." Anyone with an old dog or cat knows how difficult it can be to care for an aging animal; just image when that animal is 18-feet tall! For zoo guests who grew up and remember visiting Sukari over the last 25 years, we've created a commemorative portrait, taken by our talented volunteer photographer Dennis Dow, available for purchase online through Pictopia . You can or