Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Ric Brewer, Communications At the end of April, the kids at an Upper Eastside Manhattan first-grade class were treated to something special: a "virtual visit" via Skype with Woodland Park zoo penguin keeper, Celine Pardo . The class had been studying penguins and when they discovered that WPZ had won the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' Exhibit Award for our Humboldt penguin exhibit, they sought out to speak with us. After contacting us via email, their teacher Jen arranged the live interview. Celine, along with several penguin props, interacted via Skype with the kids. They had incredibly astute questions for her, gleaned through their studies. The first-graders ask everything from the details of penguin evolution to where are a penguin's ears. Both the kids and Celine had a great time. Here's the note their teacher emailed us immediately following the interview: Before the Skype interview, the kids used books, a few used the Internet, intervi

Posted by: Mark Myers, Animal Curator Metal detectors and body scans—not just for airports any more! This is the story of how a penguin’s life was saved by these technologies right here at Woodland Park Zoo. TSA gone too far? Nope, just a zookeeper demonstrating how we use a metal detector on penguins. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week, zookeepers observed that one of our penguin juveniles was not feeling well. Diablo, hatched last year, had not been eating regularly and was losing weight. Diablo’s keepers suspected he may have ingested a foreign body that was causing blockage for him. So they brought him behind the scenes and used a metal detector wand to determine if he had ingested any coins or other metal objects. Trust me, it’s not easy metal detecting on a penguin! You have to be careful to hold the penguin away from anything that might give a false positive, and penguins, well, they can fidget. But sure enough, once the keepers got Diablo into place and wave

Posted by: Lorna Chin, External Relations Over a year ago, 6-year-old Olivia was diagnosed with Astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor. It's been a year of tests, surgeries and procedures and Olivia has survived the odds—the fact that she can walk and talk after her surgery last year shocked even the doctors. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central and Northern Florida, the nonprofit that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions, told Olivia she could wish for anything, she wished to come to Seattle so she could spend time with her family, some of whom she hadn’t seen since she was born. One of the places she wanted to visit with them while in Seattle was Woodland Park Zoo, so Olivia's aunt, uncle, two cousins and grandmother came down from Vancouver, Canada to meet her here. What we didn't know was that while in the hospital, Olivia told her mom that she just wanted to visit penguins. As good fortune would have it, that's exactly the expe

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Five Humboldt penguin chicks hatched this past February and took their first steps out into their exhibit on Monday morning. The chicks, who practiced swimming behind the scenes in a secure pool room before their debut, took to the water quickly and have been exploring all around their exhibit. The colony is adjusting well to the new additions, which are significant hatchings for the penguin Species Survival Plan . Humboldt penguins are an endangered species and here at the zoo these birds are important conservation ambassadors to teach visitors about the impacts humans have on penguins in their range countries. You can tell the chicks apart from the adults by looking for their lighter, more grayish plumage. Look for them during your next visit! Photos by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Video by Erika Schultz, courtesy Seattle Times.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The Oscars are coming up and we have some Best Picture nominees of our own featuring Woodland Park Zoo’s superstars—our animals, our staff and our conservation efforts. We’ve picked five top nominees from videos produced in 2010 for our YouTube channel and now through February 27, you can cast your vote here for your Best Picture choice. And the Best Picture nominees are... Lion training Penguin chicks Flamingo squeaks Moment of silence Otter valentine Cast your vote for WPZ Best Picture We’re always experimenting with video ideas and our diverse nominees show off that variety. Your votes and feedback help us understand what our viewers want and help shape upcoming videos. Thanks for participating! Videos produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. See more at www.youtube.com/woodlandparkzoo .

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications This week marks Woodland Park Zoo’s 111th birthday, and what a 111th year it has been! In 2010 we celebrated conservation successes, won a national best exhibit award, hatched endangered species and so much more. Here’s my personal pick of the top 10 zoo stories of 2010, in no particular order. What were your favorite zoo experiences this year? 1. Endangered penguin chicks hatch in new exhibit 2. Snow leopard cologne sniff test helps conservation research in the wild 3. Rescued golden eagle finds new home at zoo 4. Meerkats return to the zoo after 10-year absence—and they’re meerkute! 5. Elephant Chai predicts winner of the Apple Cup 6. Zoo wins national Best Exhibit Award for sustainably-built Humboldt penguin exhibit 7. Teens raise and release endangered turtles into wild 8. Community celebrates endangered species with zoo’s Limited Edition art and Trophy Cupcakes 9. Zoo blog readers help raise money to fight

Posted by Ric Brewer, Communications For the fifth time in our history, Woodland Park Zoo has been honored with an Exhibit Achievement Award by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) for our Humboldt penguin exhibit. The prestigious award, equivalent to an "Oscar" in the zoo and aquarium world, was presented this week at AZA's annual conference in Houston. In a rare move by AZA, the top award also went to a second institution, Oregon Zoo, for its Predators of the Serengeti. The achievement award is presented by AZA for outstanding dedication to conservation issues, construction of exhibit space and simulation of species natural habitats. The state-of-the-art penguin exhibit, opened in May 2009, transports zoo-visitors to the rocky coastal peninsula of Punta San Juan, home to the largest breeding population of Humboldt penguins in Peru. There are many factors used to determine "best exhibit" status, but the many energy-efficient and "green" elem

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications With five chicks hatched in April, we were thrilled with the breeding success of our endangered Humboldt penguin colony in just the first year of their new exhibit. Well, now there’s even more to cheer. Two more penguins just hatched at the start of August! The keepers regularly weigh the chicks to ensure they are achieving acceptable weight gains. At the weigh-in today, the 12-day-old chick came in at just over 1 lb and the 9-day-old chick at 0.6 lb. They looked healthy and it seems their parents, 18-year-old mother Cujo and 20-year-old father Oedipus, are properly caring for them in their off-exhibit nesting burrow. The parents are among the oldest penguins in the zoo’s colony and also the most genetically valued breeding pair at the zoo. As part of our work in the Species Survival Plan for the endangered Humboldt penguins, ensuring such genetic diversity is critical to the stability of the population. The two chicks will stay under the car

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Yesterday concluded National Zookeeper Week—a time to recognize and thank all the amazing keepers here at Woodland Park Zoo and beyond. They work hard every day to care for and enrich the lives of zoo animals , help to save and protect their wild counterparts, and connect with zoo visitors during their talks and public programs inspiring them to learn, care and act on behalf of wildlife everywhere. At our annual zookeeper week lunch, curator Nancy Hawkes announced the winner of the 2010 Keeper of the Year award—John Samaras. If you are a regular zoo blog reader, you have seen glimpses of John in our photos of the penguin chicks behind the scenes. That’s just one part of the fascinating and rewarding work he does at the zoo. What is it like to be a zookeeper? Read our Q&A with John: 1.) How long have you been a zookeeper? When did you start working at Woodland Park Zoo? I started in the zoo field in 1997 in maintenance at the Akron Zoo an

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Our five Humboldt penguin chicks have joined the adult colony and can now be viewed on exhibit during zoo hours. To get them used to being in the water before they debuted, the chicks had round-the-clock access to a shallow pool behind the scenes at the exhibit where they could practice floating and swimming in a more controlled and less crowded environment. See them in action here… The youngest of the chicks, a male hatched to parents Diego and Radar on April 25, is in need of a name and we’re asking our online fans to help. Fans can submit name suggestions for the chick to the wall of our Facebook page beginning July 7 through July 8, noon PST. To honor the Humboldt penguin’s Chilean and Peruvian native range, fans are encouraged to submit Spanish-language names. Penguin keepers will select their three favorite names from the submissions, and fans will then vote on July 9 on the zoo’s Facebook page for their top pick. So start thinking up s

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Eating fish and swimming around come naturally to our Humboldt penguin chicks . But to make sure they are getting the best possible diet and are comfortable and confident in their surroundings, our keepers are currently giving the chicks some one-on-one attention behind the scenes before they join the adults out on exhibit. The two oldest chicks , hatched April Fool’s Day and Easter Sunday, have lost their downy feathers and now have waterproof feathers for swimming. To get them used to being in water, the chicks have round-the-clock access to a shallow pool behind the scenes at the exhibit, where they can practice floating and swimming. And while eating is no problem for these chicks, they do now have to learn how to accept fish directly from their keepers like all the adult penguins do. Hand feeding is especially useful because it allows the keepers to keep track of just how much each bird is eating as well as ensuring that each individual r

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications In April, we celebrated the hatching of five Humboldt penguin chicks . Yesterday, we showed off a couple of these chicks to local press, and are they growing fast! The biggest chick weighed in at 8 pounds and is just 3 inches shy of reaching full adult height. While penguin chicks do grow surprisingly fast, they still have that adorable “babyish” look. Wearing the downy plumage they were born with, their gray, waterproof feathers are starting to grow in. The three sets of parents continue to raise their young in nesting burrows in a quiet, off-exhibit room. The chicks shown in these photos hatched on the first of April and on Easter Sunday, representing the oldest chicks from this year’s breeding season. We don’t know the gender of the chicks yet but will find out in the near future through DNA testing. So, when do you get to see the chicks? Our plan is to introduce them to the outdoor exhibit sometime in late June to mid-July, but first we nee

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Here's the first video of the newly hatched Humboldt penguin chick. Turn up the sound to find out what the keepers are looking for during this quick checkup: And here's some exciting news--this chick now has a sibling, hatched on Easter Sunday! Penguin keepers are weighing the chicks each day for the first week after hatching to ensure acceptable weight gains while allowing the parents to raise their chicks and gain experience as parents. In zoos and in the wild, both penguin parents take turns incubating the eggs and caring for their young. It will be early summer before the penguin chicks emerge from the nesting burrows and venture outdoors into the public exhibit. We'll post updates periodically as the chicks grow. Video produced by Ryan Hawk, narration by Katie Norton/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications As we shared earlier this week , Easter has delivered an early batch of eggs to Woodland Park Zoo – Humboldt penguin eggs, that is – and the first chick was discovered to have hatched on April Fool’s Day! The first penguin chick represents the first offspring for mother Dora and father PJ, both 3 years old. The second egg in their nest shows pipping activity and is expected to hatch on Easter Sunday. The newly hatched chick weighs 2.1 oz. Humboldt penguin chicks hatch with grayish brown, downy feathers, which molt into completely gray feathers when they fledge. It will be early summer before any of the chicks emerge from the nesting burrows and venture outdoors into the public exhibit for visitors to enjoy. Over the last few weeks, three pairs of Humboldt penguins have been sitting on two eggs each in the burrows specially constructed for the birds in their new exhibit. At least two of the remaining four eggs are fertile. Staff plans to cand

Posted by: Shawn Pedersen, Animal Collection Manager Penguin fans—we’ve got some exciting news for you! Over the last few weeks, three pairs of Humboldt penguins have been busy incubating two eggs each in the burrows we’ve constructed for them in their new exhibit . This is great progress for our birds and shows us they are comfortable in the exhibit we’ve built for them . These are the first eggs at Woodland Park Zoo to come from this flock of penguins that debuted last May, and we’ve been tracking the development of the eggs around every two weeks with a process called candling. With candling, you use a high powered and focused light for just a few quick seconds to see if the egg is fertile, alive and developing as it should be. You can see some photos of the process below: Depending on how far along in the incubation process the egg is, you should be able to see veins after about a week’s time, and should be able to see movement in the egg about half way through the incubation

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications For Woodland Park Zoo, 2009 was a year of notable births, conservation milestones, and a few firsts. Here’s my personal pick of the top 9 zoo stories from 2009, in no particular order--some fun, some inspirational, and some just cute. What were your favorite zoo stories this year? 1. Creating Papua New Guinea’s first Conservation Area 2. Penguins take their first swim 3. Snow leopard twins born to first-time mom 4. How do you exercise flamingo chicks? 5. Zoo hatches a cottonball…err, tawny frogmouth chick 6. Endangered Oregon spotted frogs released into the wild 7. Zoo staff and community team up to restore local habitat 8. Introducing the world’s first GPS-enabled zoo iPhone app 9. Animals get their own downtown art show, critics go wild

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Last Thursday, Woodland Park Zoo was recognized by the Seattle Design Commission with a design excellence award for our new Humboldt penguin exhibit! The award is in recognition of Seattle’s best capital improvement projects. Other honorees were Fremont Peak Park, Thornton Creek, Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan, and Sound Transit Central Link. Visitors may be fixated on the nose-to-beak views of the penguins in the exhibit, but it’s the harder to see sustainable elements of the exhibit that captured the Design Commission’s attention. With support from Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities , we installed an energy efficient ground-based geothermal heat pump that uses the Earth’s below-ground temperature to keep the exhibit’s water at a penguin-friendly 55 degrees year round, as well as an innovative water filtration system. These features will save nearly 22,000 kilowatt-hours of energy and 3 million gallons of water per year.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham & Gigi Allianic, Communications Woodland Park Zoo is cheering for the Seattle Sounders FC as they head to the first round of MLS Cup playoffs this week. This morning, the animals got into the spirit of the playoffs their own way. While we didn’t see any banana kicks or diving headers here, the zoo’s grizzly bears, twin snow leopard cubs, and Humboldt penguins did have quite the time playing with and kicking around soccer balls. The soccer balls for the animals are a form of enrichment as part of the zoo’s animal care program to help enhance the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and engage zoo visitors. The cubs playfully tumbled with the soccer balls, the bears crushed them with their jaws, and the penguins excitedly dove around the soccer balls floating in their pool. Do your own cheering as the Seattle Sounders FC face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Playoff Western Conference Semifinals on T

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Here's your chance to own one of the Penguins on the March penguin statues seen migrating across Seattle this summer--a public silent auction will be held for the penguins on August 14 at the monthly Art Up Greenwood-Phinney art walk . Meet some of the artists and place your bid on one of the 30 penguin statues that will be auctioned off to benefit Woodland Park Zoo’s field conservation programs . Woodland Park Zoo currently supports 38 wildlife conservation projects in 50 countries worldwide, including the Humboldt Penguin Conservation Center at Punta San Juan. Save the date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at The Greenwood Collective . See you there! Photos by Ryan Hawk.