Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Craig Newberry, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is welcoming a new tiger to its naturalistic Banyan Wilds habitat. Male tiger Angin (ON-yin), 14, arrived from Ellen Trout Zoo in Texas and is now roaming the zoo’s Malayan tiger habitat. Angin, which means wind in Indonesian, is the brother of Woodland Park Zoo’s other male Malayan tiger, 14-year-old Bumi (Boo-mee), which means earth in Indonesian. Tigers are solitary animals, so guests won’t see the brothers or 8-year-old Azul, the zoo’s female Malayan tiger, roaming the habitat together. All three big cats will be on a rotational schedule in the habitat. Angin weighs about 260 pounds and has been spending the last couple of weeks getting to know his new home and animal keepers. While Angin’s animal keepers have only known him for a short time, he’s already made a big impression and has a similar personality to his brother Bumi and is more reserved; he also enjoys playing in t...

 Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Celebrate the powerful roar of the tiger as we usher in the 2022 Lunar New Year, Year of the Tiger.  It's year of the Bumi! Lunar New Year is celebrated across the globe, but especially in East Asia where traditions and interpretations are as unique as the many cultures that mark this special date. The Chinese zodiac suggests that those born in 2022, Year of the Tiger , will be brave, competitive and confident. Tigers are seen as a sign of good luck, an auspicious symbol in many cultures, and what better time to harness some positive energy into protecting this endangered species. Just six subspecies of tigers survive today: Malayan, Amur (or Siberian), Indian (or Bengal), South China, Indo-Chinese and Sumatran. All are endangered or critically endangered. The Malayan tiger lives only on the Malay Peninsula and the southern tip of Thailand. The population for Malayan tigers is dangerously low, with fewer than 250 living in their home ra...

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Malayan tiger, Azul, is making herself right at home in her Banyan Wilds habitat. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo has a new queen of the jungle: 5-year-old Azul recently arrived in Seattle all the way from the Bronx Zoo in New York City and now she’s ready to meet all of you! The beautiful young Malayan tiger spent 30 days in standard quarantine under the watchful eye of Woodland Park Zoo’s veterinary care team and is now ready to roam through the zoo's naturalistic Banyan Wilds habitat. 5-year-old Azul was born at Bronx Zoo in New York City. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Azul was born at the Bronx Zoo on January 5, 2016, and had to be hand-raised in the days following her birth because her mother was not giving her proper care. That kind of upbringing means that Azul has an especially calm and mellow nature—she’s taken very well to her animal keepers here in her new home! Azul! Photo: Jeremy ...

Posted by Carolyn Sellar, Animal Keeper Photos by Carolyn Sellar, Woodland Park Zoo “So today was a glorious day, again it was HOT and my legs were tired, and I can’t wait to get a full 8 hours of sleep, but being in the forest is so... incredible. It breathes, it’s so alive, and there is just such an amount of peacefulness while I am in here.” With beads of sweat dripping down her face, animal keeper Carolyn Sellar records into her video diary after a day of trekking in tiger forest. She never wants to forget how it feels to be seeing firsthand the habitat and wildlife she works so hard to protect. “ The heat the humidity, the fatigue, the trekking… doesn’t matter. There is something about being in the forest. All the life—being where tigers and elephants are just roaming in their own habitat—it’s so inspiring and it makes you want to help.” Carolyn works with Malayan tigers and orangutans here in Seattle at Woodland Park Zoo, and is a passionate advocate for endangere...

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 Gigi Allianic, Communications The critically endangered Malayan tiger just got another helping hand from a coalition of wildlife conservation organizations, shining a brighter light of hope for the magnificent big cat. Malaysia’s new Kenyir State Park has just been designated an additional 48,466 acres. Combined with another logging concession protected in May 2018, the new park now spans 74,140 rain forest acres—nearly three times the park’s original size and three times the size of San Francisco. A Critically Endangered Malayan Tiger takes a swim. Photo by Hans Stieglit Kenyir State Park is the first-ever state park for the state of Terengganu and the first state park to be gazetted in Peninsular Malaysia since 2007. The Malayan tiger is one of six subspecies of tigers and lives only on the Malay Peninsula and in the southern tip of Thailand. The population for Malayan tigers is dangerously low—fewer than 250 survive in their natural range. They face treme...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications This whole week—which has been National Zookeeper Week—we’ve been celebrating our amazing animal keepers and showing them some love! Looking out for our animals is more than just a job for WoodlandPark Zoo’s keepers. Lead animal keeper Alyssa strikes a very komodo dragon pose. Most of these dedicated professionals consider their critters to be parts of their extended family—a furry, feathered, scaly and hairy family. We would be happy to accept a rose from either Lucy the raccoon or from Regina, one of our awesome animal keepers. Among Woodland Park Zoo’s animal keeper staff, you will find scientists, researchers, educators, wildlife rehabbers, conservationists and environmental stewards. Christine, Ros, Carolyn, Jenna and Drew make for the most marvelous meerkat mob. They represent the heart and soul of what we do, caring for our animals, providing our guests with amazing experiences and just generally being a...

Posted by: Kerston Swartz, Public Affairs Proceeds from the Save Vanishing Species stamp go to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Without Borders program. We're grateful in this digital age that some of you still send handwritten letters. That's because your Save Vanishing Species Stamp purchases from the U.S. Postal Service have just made it possible for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to award nearly $50,000 to the Woodland Park Zoo-Panthera Malayan Tiger Conservation Project and Rimba , our in-country field partner. The new funding will enhance our anti-poaching efforts in Peninsular Malaysia. We have yet to discover a wild tiger roaming the United States, but that doesn’t stop the USFWS from caring about their fight against extinction. Recognizing the critical role humans play in endangered species survival and the growing need for collaboration among countries, the USFWS created the Wildlife Without Borders program to provide grants for intern...