Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Our beautiful Batu. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is sad to share it learned today that its pregnant orangutan, Batu, has lost her baby after carrying the fetus nearly to term. An ultrasound performed this morning during an anesthetized exam unfortunately revealed the fetus was no longer viable. This was the first pregnancy for the 15-year-old orangutan and would have marked the first orangutan birth at the zoo in 35 years. Godek, also 15, was the father. “While we always prepare for worst-case scenarios, of course, this is not the outcome we expected. We had high hopes and were so excited to welcome a healthy baby to our zoo family and for Batu to enter a new chapter of motherhood. This is a monumental loss for our zoo family and our hearts are very heavy, especially for Batu and her dedicated caretakers,” said Roger Sweeney, Chief Zoological Officer at Woodland Park Zoo. “Up until recently we had been able to ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Editors note November 13, 2024:  Hello friends. A lot of you have been asking about our Sumatran orangutan Batu and the status of her pregnancy. Here's an update. You haven’t missed a birth announcement. Admittedly, our projected birth window was quite off. While we don’t have a clear new window for her delivery, all other indicators are good: Batu remains healthy, the fetus appears healthy, and Batu is getting regular pre-natal check-ups by our veterinary staff and weekly checks by an OBGYN. We continue to send Batu positive vibes while she remains on track. We know you are excited for her baby to arrive and we are too! Again, thank you for checking in and we hope to share some positive baby news very soon! An orangutan at Woodland Park Zoo, 14-year-old Batu, is expected to give birth soon and is nearing the end of her pregnancy, which for orangutans is nearly nine months. The birth will mark the first orangutan born at the zoo in 35 ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Beautiful Batu is expecting a baby —the first orangutan pregnancy at Woodland Park Zoo in 35 years! For the first time in 35 years at Woodland Park Zoo, an orangutan is pregnant. The expectant mom is 14-year-old Batu and the father is 15-year-old Godek; both are Sumatran orangutans. Batu is due to give birth this summer in late August/early September and this will be the first offspring for both orangutans. The gestation period for orangutans is about nine months. Batu, which means “rock” in Malay, arrived in 2021 from Philadelphia Zoo; Godek, whose name means “sideburns” in Indonesian, arrived in 2017 from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs, CO). The Sumatran orangutans were paired under a breeding recommendation by the Orangutan Species Survival Plan and have been companions in the zoo’s Trail of Vines. Species Survival Plans are cooperative breeding programs across accredited zoos to help ...

Posted by Hattie Potter, Development Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo This week is Orangutan Caring Week, a fantastic time to highlight the orangutans living at our zoo! This week serves as a poignant reminder of how critical it is to safeguard these majestic creatures and their rapidly diminishing forest habitats. Thank you to our wonderful staff on the orangutan animal care team for helping us get to know these incredible primates and for caring for them every single day.  As part of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan (Orangutan SSP), Woodland Park Zoo staff work closely with other conservation zoos around the country to develop goals towards orangutan research, education, advocacy, conservation and animal husbandry. Together with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Orangutan SSP serves the accredited zoos that house orangutans. Working closely with respected professionals in the field, the SSP provides help and guidance to zoos housing orangutans. Toget...

Posted by Craig Newberry, Communications Take inspiration from Godek and Batu! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The word orangutan comes from two Malay words, "orang," meaning person and "hutan," meaning forest. For International Orangutan Day, Woodland Park Zoo is highlighting the "people of the forest," the challenges they've overcome and how we all can help save these critically endangered apes. Orangutans face several threats that are rapidly destroying the forest environments they require for survival, including human overpopulation, logging and agriculture. One of the most significant threats is the conversion of forests to unsustainable monocultures, such as palm oil plantations. Watch:  https://youtu.be/dOWhf52YIbA The HUTAN-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme is a long-time Woodland Park Zoo partner dedicated to conserving Borneo's threatened habitats and wildlife species. For the past few years, HUTAN’s researche...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Can you really make a difference for endangered species from the grocery store? YES!   Sumatran orangutan, Godek. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Companies that make the things you shop for are mostly after one goal: to sell their product. That means they’re more likely to change the way they do things—to be more eco-friendly, for instance—if you tell them it influences your buying decisions. This little baby Bornean orangutan and his mother need protected forests to survive. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo One conservation concern where consumers like you are making a real difference is palm oil. Maybe you’re familiar with the buzz about it, or maybe it’s the first time you’re hearing about it. The problems with palm oil are complex—even confusing. But the solutions don’t have to be. Let’s cut through some of the clutter about this ubiquitous ingredient that’s in thousands of products you shop for every day....

 Posted by Gigi Allianic/ Woodland Park Zoo Melati, photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is mourning the loss of Melati, a female orangutan who passed away while recovering from a surgical procedure. The surgery was performed to remove possibly cancerous growths of the uterus and left ovary as a life-saving measure and to alleviate pain and discomfort associated with her significant reproductive disease.  The 193-pound orangutan would have turned 50 on December 27 and was the oldest orangutan living at the zoo. The median life expectancy for orangutans is 28 years; in zoos, orangutans are now living in to their 40s and 50s because of the evolving field of zoo medicine, which includes geriatric care. “Losing our animals is very difficult, they are family to us. Melati lived at Woodland Park Zoo for nearly five decades and was a role model mother to her two offspring who continue to thrive here,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park ...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren Meet our new Sumatran orangutan, Batu! Beautiful Batu! There's a new red-haired beauty on the Trail of Vines! The Orangutan Species Survival Plan identified Batu as a future breeding mate for Godek, our 12-year-old, male Sumatran orangutan who has lived at the zoo since 2017. Batu, also 12, arrived in May from Philadelphia Zoo. Species Survival Plans are conservation breeding programs across accredited zoos to help ensure healthy, self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered species. After completing a standard quarantine earlier this summer at the zoo’s veterinary hospital, Batu was moved to the orangutan exhibit in off-view dens while she acclimated to her new home. According to Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo, the introduction process has been slow, but thoughtful. “Every animal is different and moves at its own pace during introductions. As we do with all our animals, we foll...

Posted by Rebecca Whitham, Vice President of Engagement with Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, WPZ  A female proboscis monkey and her baby in Borneo’s Kinabatangan region. The boat driver cuts the engine. We slowly bob and drift along the river toward the direction of what has caught the observation team’s eyes—a sight found nowhere else in the world: the improbably proportioned proboscis monkey. Researchers with HUTAN’s primate observation unit have spotted a small family group. With the aid of binoculars and a clipboard, they take note of juveniles playing, female adults nearby at rest. A dominant male on a branch all his own watches over us, potbelly flopped over almost as characteristically as his nose.  Our team recognizes a male proboscis monkey by his signature nose. That signature nose is meant to signal his attractiveness, and possibly act as a sound enhancer for better group management. It also has given the proboscis monkey its name and its prominence in the eco-st...