Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Video: TT for the Bears. Things got very Seattle at Woodland Park Zoo when the world-famous fishmongers from Pike Place Fish Market helped us kick off Bear Awareness week and the big event, Bear Affair: Living Northwest Conservation Day presented Brown Bear Car Wash coming up Sat., Jun. 4. Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Grizzly brothers Keema and Denali could smell the salmon long before the fishmongers sent the fish flying over to them, shouting "TT for the bears" as in "test toss" in fishmonger-speak. Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. In true Keema and Denali style, the bears let gravity do the work for them and then dined contentedly. Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Don't let the beautiful exhibit design fool you—the fishmongers were a safe distance from the bears with layers of containment between them, all under the watchful eyes of our animal care crew. That'

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Is your yard a stomping ground for cougars, coyotes, raccoons, skunks or bears? Would you like to see what passes through your yard even when you’re not around? We’re looking for community members like you to allow us to place a remote camera on your property to collect data for our new research study: the Washington Urban–Wildland Carnivore Project. A black bear's image caught by a remote camera in the study. Photo: Woodland Park Zoo. A collaboration between Woodland Park Zoo and the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, the Washington Urban–Wildland Carnivore Project is exploring ways to promote coexistence among humans and carnivores in King County. The research explores how carnivores respond to urbanization and human activity by studying where and when they occur, what they eat, and what happens to the system when apex carnivores are absent. Bobcat. Photo: Woodland Park Zoo. We’re

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. We've heard stories of river otter sightings during hiking trips or kayak voyages, and some Northwesterners have even spotted otters while simply walking the dog. If you have ever observed a wild river otter in Washington state—or if you encounter one on your next outdoor adventure—we want to hear from you. Become an Otter Spotter and submit your sightings to our new community science initiative , part of our Living Northwest conservation program. We're collecting data on otter sightings across Washington as we launch a new research project that takes a closer look at the state's virtually unstudied river otter populations. Led by Michelle Wainstein, PhD, a local ecologist and conservationist, the research project—River Otters of Western Washington: Sentinels of Ecological Health—has a special focus on one of Washington's most used waterways. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Th

After an international search, Woodland Park Zoo has found its new President and CEO: Alejandro Grajal, PhD. The eighth president in our 117-year history in this community, Alejandro is set to embrace the mantle of leading our continuous evolution as one of the world’s foremost conservation and education zoos. Alejandro Grajal will begin his role as Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO on May 16, 2016. The CEO Selection Committee, comprising Woodland Park Zoo Board members and community representatives, was highly impressed by his leadership, deep passion for education and conservation, and significant contributions as a research scientist that span conservation biology and animal welfare to the social sciences. Grajal will assume service on Monday, May 16. Grajal joined the leadership team at the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the Brookfield Zoo, 10 years ago. He now serves as senior vice president for conservation, education and training. Before Chicago, Grajal was

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The porcupine made a clear choice for her pick to win! Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. With the Apple Cup upon us, we asked apple-loving porcupine Skyáana to try her hand at predicting the winner of the big game. Faced with a choice of apples overflowing from a Husky and a Cougar snack helmet, the 1.5-year-old prickly predictor picked the WSU Cougars for the win! Video: Porcupine makes 2015 Apple Cup prediction. Here’s the play-by-play: The keeper calls the audible. Skyáana makes a rush down the field. She drops out of the pocket and runs a naked bootleg! She’s down to the 40, the 30, the 20, across the 10 yard line, into the Cougars end zone! Touchdown, Cougars!!!! Are you kidding me??!! Holy apples , I don’t believe it!! Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. As she went for a second apple from the Cougars helmet, Skyáana made it perfectly clear that she is confident in her choice. But here's the deal: thi

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor with Gigi Allianic, Communications A wolverine is caught on camera as it approaches a noninvasive hair snare designed to snag a hair that can be used for DNA testing. Photo: Robert Long/Woodland Park Zoo. To study elusive wolverines in the wild, you need to know where they occur. To figure out where they occur, you need wolverines to trigger remote research cameras. To get wolverines to trigger the cameras, you need to attract them with a strong scent, which naturally fades after two to four weeks. To keep that scent refreshed after it fades, you need to hike into backcountry terrain with deep snow and dangerous avalanche conditions in the winter— and that’s where it gets tricky . Senior conservation fellow Robert Long installs a new device that could revolutionize his wolverine research in the Northwest. Photo: Roger Christophersen. Extreme winter conditions can make the small but critical task of refreshing scent lures or baits difficu

Posted by: Jenny Mears, Education Advanced Inquiry Program students reflecting on their experience in Northwest Wildlife Conservation, a regional field course in which students traveled to the Oregon coast to meet with stakeholders in the Oregon silverspot butterfly conservation program.  Interested in pursuing your degree through the Advanced Inquiry Program ? Join us for an informational forum on November 17 or January 21. The Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) is an exciting Master’s degree offered by Woodland Park Zoo in partnership with Project Dragonfly at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. This program is designed for a broad range of professionals from education, conservation, business, and government settings, and offers a groundbreaking graduate degree focused on inquiry-driven learning as a powerful agent for social and ecological change. The Advanced Inquiry Program combines graduate courses at the zoo with web-based courses, and provides students with hands-on, rea

Posted by: Fred Koontz, PhD, Vice President of Field Conservation On behalf of Woodland Park Zoo Society Board of Directors and staff, I congratulate the citizens  of Washington for passing Initiative 1401, making Washington the first state in the country to help save 10 endangered animal species groups from extinction by a vote of the people. By creating tough new penalties for trafficking products made from these animals, Washington joins other major port states like California, New York and New Jersey in passing laws that close loopholes allowing the black market to thrive for endangered species products. As Washingtonians, we should be tremendously proud of what we have achieved. Tuesday’s overwhelming election result shows that when asked, Washington voters will stand up to protect species from the cruelty of poaching and illegal trade. This is a groundbreaking, grassroots effort – especially significant is that passing I-1401 undoubtedly will inspire other states

Posted by: Bridget Dunn, Communications In and around Taman Negara National Park in Peninsular Malaysia, we’re working with our field conservation partners Panthera and Rimba to find and protect critically endangered Malayan tigers. This effort was established in 2012 as the WPZ-Panthera Malayan Tiger Conservation Partnership  with a $1 million, 10-year commitment to collaborate with Rimba and Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks. One of Rimba’s most important tiger detection tools is a series of remote cameras, known as camera traps, set up around the forest. The traps are motion and heat sensitive, and the images they capture help us understand where tigers are so we can focus our protection efforts in those areas. One great thing about these cameras is how they are documenting that there are more than tigers to discover in this spectacular jungle! Photo: DWNP-Rimba Camera traps aren’t picky—they’ll snap a photo of any warm-blooded animal that moves withi

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Watch: Chris Pratt and Anna Faris name Woodland Park Zoo baby penguin.  Actors Anna Faris and Chris Pratt and their son Jack were invited to name Woodland Park Zoo’s 50th Humboldt penguin chick . Pratt and Faris grew up in the Seattle area and love Woodland Park Zoo. The name they selected—Eagle—honors their local roots. Eagle the penguin chick. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. After acing his first veterinary exam last week , Eagle continues to do well and is now spending time out in the exhibit with the colony. You can identify him by his blue band—try to spot him soaring through the water on your next visit! Watch Eagle soar...underwater. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Become a ZooParent today and adopt Eagle the penguin chick . Your adoption helps us provide daily care for Eagle and all the animals at the zoo, while also supporting conservation for penguins and other species threat

Posted by: Fred Koontz, Ph.D., Vice President of Field Conservation Here’s your chance to tell the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) how much you care about our local animals and habitats. Jim Unsworth, WDFW Director, has announced an exciting new multi-year initiative, Washington’s Wild Future: A Partnership for Fish and Wildlife . The idea is to seek public comments and ideas to strengthen the department’s relationships with communities, increase support for conservation and outdoor recreation, and help ensure the department meets the public’s needs. Woodland Park Zoo has partnered with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for nearly 25 years, including on the recovery of the endangered western pond turtle. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Four regional public forums have been scheduled for October.  Each meeting will begin with a presentation about the importance of fish and wildlife to Washington’s quality of life and the economies of its local

Posted by: Eli Weiss, Education Adapted from a blog post that first appeared on The Ocean Project . Woodland Park Zoo, along with our partners the Seattle Aquarium and Pacific Science Center are working together to build the Seattle Youth Climate Action Network (CAN). The goal of this project supported by The Ocean Project’s Innovative Solutions Grants+ is to train and support teen leaders, helping them create a campaign that encourages their peers to take measurable action on the issue of climate change. In collaboration with partner staff and community agencies and organization, we are beginning to build local support and enthusiasm for the project. Seattle Youth CAN is picking up momentum—we have had a handful of successful events and have already learned a lot about starting a local youth network. Our training model for this effort has included engaging teen participants in hands-on action; a full day of instruction on climate science, communication strategies and loc