Woodland Park Zoo Blog

 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 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...