Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications If you give a black-breasted leaf turtle a hibiscus...she might ask for another petal! Part of Alyssa Borek’s job as Day Exhibit keeper is to ensure all of her residents get a variety of food and enrichment items. Sometimes this means giving an animal a new palatable experience; such was the case with this sweet, little black-breasted leaf turtle and her hibiscus dinner. Video: Black-breasted leaf turtle snacks on hibiscus. Video by Alyssa Borek/Woodland Park Zoo. The adorable clip above shows a tiny taste-test starring our black-breasted leaf turtle, Geoemyda spengleri, and her appetite for a hibiscus petal. Four stars to the chef! Day Exhibit keeper, Alyssa, answers a few questions about this daring culinary adventure… What does this turtle usually eat in the wild? In the wild, these turtles eat various invertebrates, such as insects, worms, and grubs. They also eat decaying fruit found on the forest floor and venture in

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Photos by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo except where otherwise noted. The truth is, Junior buckled. Leading up to the naming ceremony, the communications and animal management teams prepared with hours of work: planning the press op, selecting culturally significant names, molding papier-mâché enrichment into maracas, and warming up Junior to practice piñatas for a successful ceremony. Three name options chosen by jaguar zookeepers—Cruz, Tlaloc and Kuwan—were individually paired with tasty, enticing piñatas and hung from a low tree branch for Junior in Jaguar Cove Friday morning. The goal was for Junior to bite into one of the named piñatas and thus ultimately decide the name of his first-born son. The three colorful piñatas tempted Junior toward his big decision with the scents of raw, juicy chicken, which was stuffed inside the maracas. With the lure of his favorite treat, there was no doubt Junior would be game to complete th

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo They each now weigh more than an average bowling ball. It’s getting harder to handle our growing jaguar cubs , and their 9-week exam last week was the first that required anesthesia to safely complete the brief check-ups. To make sure each cub got the team’s full attention, we conducted the exams one at a time, carefully escorting each cub to the zoo’s mobile hospital in the back of our animal health ambulance. Here the vets completed the basics of each exam, including: The weigh-in. The cubs are each around 15-16 pounds. Taking measurements to make sure growth is on track. The visual inspection, including a look at the paws, skin and fur. And a dental inspection to see how the teeth are growing and to get a glimpse of their oral health. After giving each cub required feline vaccinations, they were quickly returned to their behind-the-scenes hom

Posted by: Matt Mills, Zookeeper Were you aware that without serious action it is estimated that rhinos will disappear from the wild by 2030? Organized crime syndicates have spread into wildlife crime; bringing technological advancements, networks of smugglers, and high powered weaponry with them. Rhino horn is more valuable than gold in certain markert, and because of this an average of two rhinos are lost every day. White rhino at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya. Photo by Matt Mills. Why is rhino horn so valuable? In parts of the world people have been lead to believe that rhino horn is a cure for everything from the common cold to cancer. Science has disproved this belief. In fact, rhino horn is made of tightly compacted hair. Does that sound like a cure-all to you?  It's not too late to stop the disappearance of these magnificent creatures from our planet. There are an estimated 30,000 rhinos still left in the wild, many of which live in conservancies ded

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Mom Adia doesn't get to rest much with four cubs, but she's as sharp as ever when it comes to watching out for them. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week the lion cubs got their first access to the full lion exhibit that includes the watery moat. That moat was a concern for us when the cubs were still small and developing their coordination skills, which is why they were only recently given access to the area. Now that the cubs have the run of the exhibit, keepers have been watching Adia closely to make sure that she’s not too overwhelmed by trying to look after four rambunctious cubs across a large space and near that moat. The moat is in the forefront as the cubs play with mom on the heated rock. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. But momma proved to us this weekend that we never needed to doubt her ability to be in charge. When she was playing with a ball the other day, it got away from her and r

Posted by: African Savanna zookeepers Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Chioke means “gift from above” and our big male giraffe was exactly that. He came to Woodland Park Zoo from Oakland Zoo in the spring of 2007, and right away you could tell he was a special guy. His full name is Chioke Biton Amani McKinley, though he had the nickname Toaster (as in the Brave Little Toaster) because he had health issues to overcome from when he was very young. Sadly, Chioke continued to have intermittent health concerns, and he passed away last month. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. It usually takes an animal a while to start to show trust in its keepers, but right from the get go Chioke, and his brother Kipande, showed great interest in what their keepers were up to, and that continued through his last days with us. Chioke’s willingness to interact with both the keepers and the public is what made him a fixture of our giraffe experience every year. Chioke met and connect

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Now 12 weeks old, the lion cubs are active and hardy—and outgrowing their maternity den. We’re just starting to give the cubs their first little practice sessions outside to get them ready for their upcoming public debut. We’ll share more with you tomorrow on how the private sessions are going. But today, we thought it would be fun to share the hidden side of the story—all the work that goes on behind the scenes to prepare the cubs for their outdoor adventures. Heading outside for the first time is a big milestone for the cubs. They are a rambunctious foursome and are constantly at play in the comfort of their behind-the-scenes maternity den. But we have noticed the cubs are often hesitant when it comes to new experiences. So the keepers came up with a great solution to help the cubs get ready for the experience—bring the outdoors indoor! Video : Lion cubs discover grass and sticks! Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. To ge

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Surprise! We’re excited to announce that we have not one, but two sloth bear cubs doing well behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo. It turns out our big news about having a cub born back in December is even bigger news, now that we know we have twins! Video: Sloth bear mom Tasha leaves the maternity den briefly, lured by a snack of crickets offered by zookeepers, revealing the two cubs she birthed on December 18. The case of the hidden sloth bear cub Back on December 18 when the cubs were born, 7-year-old mother Tasha was so quick to build a fortress of hay around her cubs to protect and support them in the maternity den, that we never got much of a visual on the litter. We spotted one cub, but we suspected there was a second cub in the litter, hiding out from where we could see it. What made us think we had two cubs? Through baby monitors, keepers could hear what sounded like two cubs breathing, grunting and nursing. But since

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Zookeeper Pam Cox soothes a cub as it wakes up from its vet exam. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Can you believe the lion cubs are 2 months old now? The growing boys and girls (two of each) were due for another health checkup with the zoo’s veterinarians yesterday, and they aced their exams. Zookeeper Matt Mills carries a cub to the exam table. He holds the cub just like its mother would and the cub is relaxed by the comforting position. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Now weighing in at a healthy 21 to 23 pounds each, the wriggly quadruplets are getting harder to handle, so the cubs were anesthetized for parts of this latest checkup and round of blood draws and vaccinations. A cub hisses at the immobilizer mask after it was removed. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. We took a look at their eyes… Vets are looking for clarity and good response in the eyes. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland

Posted by: Lorna Chin, External Relations, with contributions from Dr. Darin Collins, Woodland Park Zoo Animal Health I have been involved with both Woodland Park Zoo and Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington since 1998. It’s a joy to share the zoo with Make-A-Wish kids who are awaiting their wish experiences. A recent experience with a young girl named Nicole brought together the things I love most about both organizations. Nicole and her mother first came to visit in March. Her Make-A-Wish volunteers Audrey and Stephanie said she had a special request to see the elephants. Nicole was about to have major surgery for her bone cancer and this was going to be a fun day before she’d be laid up for several months. Nicole, Chai and zookeepers, March 2012. Photo courtesy of Audrey Seale. A typical experience involves the keepers sharing their vast knowledge of the animals, talking about their daily routines, and answering questions. Sometimes these visits are pretty quick, lasting