Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers Photo by Jodi Shaw. It’s almost time for the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) annual rhino conservation fundraiser, Bowling for Rhinos. But this year, the Puget Sound chapter of AAZK is going to try something a little different. We’ll be curling for rhinos! WHEN: Sat., June 7, 4:30 – 9:30 p.m. We will have two shifts for curling; 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (choose one or the other) WHERE: Granite Curling Club of Seattle , 1440 N 128th Street, Seattle, WA. COST: $20 just to eat/hang out (party only) and watch the fun or $30 to curl and eat (plus a small online registration fee) This is your opportunity to demonstrate your support for endangered rhinos and the worldwide effort to conserve endangered species. Please remember that when these animals are gone, it's forever; there is no bringing them back. You can help the Puget Sound AAZK achieve its goal of raising $13,

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications On this Endangered Species Day, we celebrate nature's latest gift to us—a critically endangered Indochinese box turtle baby, newly hatched before our eyes and thriving. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Our zookeepers put long hours into incubating eggs, maintaining a warm, safe environment for those about to hatch. When they are lucky, they get to see the big payoff happen before their eyes! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This month, we were there to greet an Indochinese box turtle as it hatched into the world. Using its egg tooth (the pointy tip you can see best in the photo below), it broke through the shell when it was ready to hatch after 78 days of incubation. At only about an inch and a half in length, the little fella is too small for any of the exhibit spaces we have in the Day Exhibit, so for now, it’s being reared behind the scenes. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Zookeepers are especiall

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications, with Sue Andersen, Zookeeper It seems like every time we do a spider story, someone gets mad at us for having to see these creatures on their screen. But we’re going to help you learn to love spiders, starting with these baby golden orb weavers seen here at just one hour old! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Spiders are good people. We talked with zookeeper, Sue Andersen, to get the scoop on these amazing critters on the occasion of the third egg case hatching in Bug World in the past two weeks. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Seen here are golden orb weaver spiderlings, fresh out of their egg case. According to Sue, “spiders actually develop from eggs into what is termed post-embryos (affectionately called ‘eggs with legs’ by arachnologists!) within the safety of their egg case. By the time they emerge from their egg case, they are first instar (or stage) as these guys and gals are. At this stage they are looking

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications This is a tale of two joeys: A 7-month-old wallaby who is just emerging from its mother’s pouch… Wallaby joey peeks out of the pouch. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. …and a nearly 4-month-old wallaroo who is giving us a whole new perspective on what goes on inside the pouch. What we've seen will amaze you.  Let’s take a closer look at the developmental stages of the two joeys.  Wallaby Joey Emerges A hand, an ear, a nose—for the last few months, we have kept a close eye out for any sign of the latest wallaby joey emerging from its mother’s pouch. Born the size of a lima bean back in October, our newest wallaby joey has finally begun to peek out! Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. You can see it still has quite a bit of developing left to do. Soon the joey will grow in a furry coat and spend more time peeking out. As we head into summer, we’ll see the baby eventually begin to take litt

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications We have a new king on the savanna! Welcome our new male South African lion, Xerxes, to Woodland Park Zoo’s lion exhibit. The handsome new king on the savanna. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Xerxes is 6.5 years old and was born on November 6, 2007 at Oklahoma City Zoo. He lived at El Paso Zoo from January 2010 until he came to Seattle in March 2014. He has been behind the scenes in standard quarantine for newly arrived animals, where he received health checkups and an assessment from our animal health staff before being introduced to the exhibit. This week he began his first ventures into the main outdoor lion yard. We watched from the lion viewing shelter as he gingerly entered the outdoor space and began to explore. Keepers say he is a very calm lion, and they expect him to settle into his new environment without any trouble. Xerxes is very striking, with his dark-tipped mane and regal expression! Xerxes is also exceptionall

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos and video by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo Traveling across the country with animals in tow is a regular experience for our dedicated zookeepers, but when curator Martin Ramirez offered me the chance to tag along and document the move of two African lions, I jumped at what for me was a once-in-a-lifetime road trip! This map traces the 16-hour route we traveled this month to deliver maturing lionesses Busela and Nobuhle to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City—all part of the Species Survival Plan conservation breeding program that will eventually pair them with two mates in their new home. Long before the road trip ever began, keepers and vet staff worked closely with the animals to prepare them for the transition with crate training, diet prep and health checks planned for before, during and after the move. The animal care staff is dedicated to ensuring these trips are as quick and stress-free as possible for all passengers, which

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications   Happy Birthday dear Nobuhle, Busela, Pelo and Rudo! Our foursome of frisky lion cubs celebrated their first trip around the sun today with a lot of gnawing, pawing and yes…yawning.     Photo by Ryan Hawk/ Woodland Park Zoo.                                 The cubs were born one year ago on November 8th. Today, the young lions received balls and bones in specially scented boxes as well as their favorite treat, bloodsicles (frozen carnivore ice pops) to celebrate their 1st birthday.   Here’s a recap of the birthday party antics:   Zookeeper Christine Fenwick started prepping for the event early this week by painting the large cardboard boxes in which to hide the birthday prizes. “The cubs have never had boxes this large,” she explained. “They are going to love ripping into them!” Christine painted the boxes with a simple non-toxic acrylic, safe for cub handling. Photo by Kirsten Pist

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications At almost three months old, it’s time for giraffe calf Misawa to stretch his long legs. Keepers have begun to give the giraffe calf, his mom Olivia and aunt Tufani access to the savanna for short introduction sessions on warmer days. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Last week Misawa took his very first steps onto the savanna exhibit. On day one, all the animals were cleared from the savanna except the easy-to-get-along-with gazelle and ducks. It was a foggy morning when Misawa emerged through the mists to find a world full of new sights, sounds and tastes surrounding him. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. He stuck close to mom’s side at first, but curiosity took over and he began to check out what the rest of the savanna had in store for him. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Day one didn’t last much longer than an hour, but he has been spending more and more time outside as the introductions continue. F