Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Uzumma enjoying the spring sunshine with her 2-month old baby. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We know you’ve been waiting for an update on mama Uzumma, her baby, dad Kwame and the rest of our Western lowland gorilla family—so here it is, just in time for Uzumma’s first Mother’s Day! Big thanks to gorilla keepers Stephanie and Judy for providing so many rich and descriptive details for us to share … and we’re happy to begin with the news that everything is going great and everyone seems healthy and content! WATCH VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/q40AGP4AcXA The group continues to do well with the new baby, who is about 2 months old now and will be named very soon. All the gorillas are still giving Uzumma lots of space when she needs it, and reverence. It’s common for members of a gorilla family to show a lot of respect for a new mother and infant—elevating their status in the group hierarchy. And seeing as Uzumma was alr...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications with Amanda Dukart, Animal Keeper We have a host of amazing staff, including animal keepers. Our Keeper Spotlight series aims to highlight their work and their passion for saving species as well as getting our readers an insider view of what it might be like to work at Woodland Park Zoo. Hello! My name is Amanda and I work as an animal keeper at Woodland Park Zoo. I currently work with tree kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies, emus, kea, kookaburra, masked lapwing, wonga pigeons, blue-faced honeyeaters. But in the past I’ve worked with everything from big cats to primates, grizzly bears to reptiles! Today I am going to show you around my day-to-day a bit and how I work with our tree kangaroos. Amanda poses with a snack of fresh veggies for the tree kangaroos. This is their indoor space, behind the scenes. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology and then started my animal keeping experience at Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, North Dako...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications This whole week—which has been National Zookeeper Week—we’ve been celebrating our amazing animal keepers and showing them some love! Looking out for our animals is more than just a job for WoodlandPark Zoo’s keepers. Lead animal keeper Alyssa strikes a very komodo dragon pose. Most of these dedicated professionals consider their critters to be parts of their extended family—a furry, feathered, scaly and hairy family. We would be happy to accept a rose from either Lucy the raccoon or from Regina, one of our awesome animal keepers. Among Woodland Park Zoo’s animal keeper staff, you will find scientists, researchers, educators, wildlife rehabbers, conservationists and environmental stewards. Christine, Ros, Carolyn, Jenna and Drew make for the most marvelous meerkat mob. They represent the heart and soul of what we do, caring for our animals, providing our guests with amazing experiences and just generally being a...

Posted by: Elizabeth Bacher, Staff Writer Meet Papú, our newest and smallest ambassador-in-training.  Hello Papú! Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/ Woodland Park Zoo Ambassador animals have an important role at Woodland Park Zoo—they allow visitors to have up-close experiences and serve as catalysts for educating about their species. By interacting with them, we learn more about their wild cousins. We learn more about ourselves and our impacts on the ecosystem. We are moved to protect them and the wild spaces they represent. Simply put, we love them and they inspire us to make conservation a priority in our lives. It’s a big responsibility. What does it take to become an ambassador—to fulfill such an important role connecting people to wildlife? The answers to these big questions can often be found in the littlest places—and in this case, an egg barely the size of a ping-pong ball. The tiny egg came to Woodland Park Zoo from Sacramento Zoo, where its parents were not ...

Posted by: Gigi Allianic Leo, a 40-year-old male gorilla, passed away suddenly on March 29, 2018 after a brief illness. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Leonel, a male gorilla fondly called Leo, passed away last night at age 40 after a brief illness. The upper middle-age gorilla had been under a 24-hour care this week. He died in his off-view sleeping den. On Monday, the 360-pound gorilla had no interest in food or drink, and did not want to leave his den to go outdoors. The zoo’s animal health team did a visual assessment and a 24-hour treatment plan that included medications, hydration, hand feeding and observation. Plans to anesthetize him yesterday for a diagnostic exam were canceled because Leo had shown significant signs of improvement. “Leo drank and ate a lot and urinated, a positive sign of hydration. Also, his activity levels increased and we even observed play behavior, so we believed he was on the mend,” said Nancy Hawkes, PhD, Woodland Park Zoo’s director of...

Posted by Alissa Wolken, Communications Hello, little ones! Footage of 6-week-old sloth bear cubs in the den with mom, Tasha. ( https://youtu.be/mbOJOale-Fs ) Tasha's 6-week-old sloth bear cubs have opened their eyes! New footage, captured on the zoo’s maternity den cam, shows the growing cubs becoming more mobile and opening their eyes. The two cubs, born December 27, 2017 , are the offspring of 13-year-old mother Tasha and 17-year-old father Bhutan. Cub kiss! Tasha gives her cubs a bath and snuggles them in the den. Screenshot from the keeper cam used to monitor the family. The mother and newborn cubs remain in an off-view maternity den to allow for their best possible welfare. This time is critical for maternal bonding and undisturbed nursing. Animal care staff is monitoring the new family via a camera inside the maternity den to ensure the cubs continue to thrive. Currently, the cubs are doing well and developing well.  Woodland Park Zoo is a participant ...

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications In case you missed our keeper spotlight on  Instagram (@woodlandparkzoo)  last week, here’s an inside look at what it’s like to work with snakes, lizards and turtles as part of Woodland Park Zoo’s reptile and amphibian team. Hey everyone, we'd like to introduce you to Alyssa Borek, lead keeper on our reptile and amphibian team. Alyssa is a herpetologist—an expert in caring for our turtles, snakes, frogs and lizards. We're going to hand you over to Alyssa today for an up-close look at what it takes to care for these amazing creatures. Enjoy! Alyssa Borek with a flowerbox turtle. Photo by Peter Miller. Hi everyone, thanks for following me along today as I show you a few really cool parts of being a zookeeper and working with herps. In this photo, I am holding one of my favorite turtles here at Woodland Park Zoo!  This is one of our female flowerback box turtles, or as I refer to them, Cuora galbinifrons .  These...

Posted by: Alissa Wolken, Communications Lulu is a curious, "independent calf with a lot of spirit," according to lead keeper, Katie Ahl. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Today is Lulu's half birthday! In honor of the special day, we asked lead keeper Katie Ahl for an update on Seattle’s tallest baby. Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ):  How is Lulu doing? Katie Ahl (KA):  Lulu is doing great. She was introduced as part of the herd from very early on and has positive relationships with each herd member, but in general she is a very independent calf with a lot of spirit. WPZ:  Can you describe Lulu’s relationship with the rest of the herd? KA:  It looks a little different with each member. Her mom, Tufani, is her home base when something startles her. But I often see Lulu hanging out with Olivia, who is just as great of an aunt as she was a mother. Lulu also has a lot of contact and check-ins with dad, Dave. They are both very cute together; sh...