Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Editor's note: Elizabeth works in the content and creative team here at Woodland Park Zoo, so you've probably read her work in MyZoo magazine, on this very blog and many places between. She is a self-described bird nerd, a passionate animal protector and she holds an M.A. in Biology from our Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP ) with Miami University. Elizabeth recently traveled to Kenya with several zoo colleagues to witness firsthand the conservation work she so loves. We are eager to share her experience: A male lion in Kenya's Maasai Mara reserve. Photo: Elizabeth Bacher When people ask why I work at Woodland Park Zoo, the answer is easy. It’s the mission. I’m passionate about conservation and I’m fortunate to work at a place where that view is widely valued, supported and shared. Recently, I was lucky enough to travel to Kenya with several zoo colleagues who share a passion for that mission—animal keepers, educators, do...

Video: Meet Benny, a certified good boy.  When Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Detective Lauren Wendt was searching for a new recruit, she had some criteria in mind: high energy, relentless drive, sharp senses, and a love of toys. “We knew we wanted to rescue a dog,” says Detective Wendt, who took the initiative to start Washington’s first wildlife crime detection dog program. Wendt scoured the Internet looking for a good fit. That’s when she found a then 16-month-old black Labrador retriever who had too much energy for his family and needed to be re-homed. “Some of these dogs that get labeled as bad dogs or just have too much energy, if you give them a job to do they are so much happier. That is exactly what happened with K9 Benny.” Sure, his paycheck is a rigorous round of tug-of-war with his favorite rope ball, but K9 Benny’s work is serious business. His nose can detect some of the most trafficked illegal wildlife parts—rhino horn, elephant ivory, be...

Inside the watchtower, Mr. Nath pulls on his boots, slings a rifle over his shoulder, straightens out his uniform shirt, and heads for the stairs. He’s one of eight forest guards stationed at Kuri Beel anti-poaching camp inside Manas National Park, Assam, India and he is off on a mission this morning. It’s time to patrol. Video | Rhino Lookout: The First Line of Defense Mr. Nath joins a crew of forest guards setting off from the watchtower as they fan out into the surrounding grasslands. Their long sleeves and pants defend them against blades of grass that tear at bare skin. But these tall grasses potentially conceal a much greater danger still—poachers. Mr. Nath is a forest guard in India's Manas National Park. On foot and sometimes on elephant back, forest guards patrol day and night in search of signs of intruders. They look for evidence of human activity—a breached fence, footprints, discarded litter from an illegal poacher encampment. Their morning patro...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Earlier this summer, in celebration of the opening of Assam Rhino Reserve, we asked artists of all ages to show us their vision of a healthy future for greater one-horned rhinos with the Rhino Lookout coloring contest. Over 350 amazing entries rolled in, and we realized that picking the winners would be very tough. Here are the very creative and inspiring winners... Grand Prize:  KIDS AGES 2-7:  Gavin Foglesong (5)  "They are living creatures and they are alive. And you need to save them when they’re in trouble. If you’re there, try to stop the bad guy."  We couldn't agree more, Gavin, and we loved your optimistic pot of gold representing a healthy future for rhinos. Wonderful drawing! Gavin will receive a ZooParent rhino adoption package and certificate for an up-close rhino experience. Grand Prize:  KIDS AGES 8-12:  Ally Munoz (12) "It is important to protect them from poache...

Posted by Rebecca Whitham, Director of Content and Creative Strategy Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo "Rhino! Rhino!" the forest guard shouted from the front seat of the vehicle.  We were 5 hours into our first excursion in India's Manas National Park when we spotted him. He spotted us too. The rhino, snapping branches as he noisily dined, quickly retreated into the forest. But that first glimpse confirmed for our own eyes what we came to document: the greater one-horned rhino's unlikely comeback from local extinction. As we prepare to open Assam Rhino Reserve at Woodland Park Zoo and welcome greater one-horned rhino for the first time, we are challenging us all to do more than see rhinos—look out for them. So zoo photographer Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren and I set out for a week in Manas on a project we're calling Rhino Lookout. We sought to discover who are the people looking out for rhino, what can we learn from their succ...