Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kelly Gross, Zookeeper Have you been wondering why the savanna exhibit at times looks empty?  Or have you been one of the lucky guests who has seen a beautiful new species of antelope springing about on the freshly growing grass? Bontebok. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. The savanna exhibit is going through a bit of a transition right now. After our two elderly antelope passed away last year, the exhibit started looking and feeling rather empty. Managers worked to identify animals that were available and would fit in with our current collection. In the fall we received two female Grant’s gazelle and two male bontebok from San Diego Wild Animal Park. The bontebok are a striking new addition to the savanna. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Gazelle tentatively explore their new savanna home. Photo: Katie Ahl/Woodland Park Zoo. We have displayed Grant’s gazelle before and hope to eventually acquire a male to begin breeding,

Posted by: Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, Zookeeper Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. While the experience of providing hands-on care for a baby gorilla is unique and rewarding, it’s with mixed emotions that keepers and Animal Health staff have taken on this responsibility. The ultimate goal of our current long hours and intense focus is to see the baby integrated into her true gorilla family. Until then, raising Nadiri’s baby in close proximity to her family reminds us that our biggest priority is to raise her as a gorilla, and to instill in her an understanding that she is indeed one of the amazing gorillas that she sees, smells and hears throughout the day. In this update, I’d like to provide a glimpse into the progress we are making toward that goal in our work behind the scenes. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Over the three months since giving birth, Nadiri continues to develop a relationship with her baby, which evolves as the baby goe

By Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, unless otherwise noted If you’ve visited the zoo during our Raptor Flight Program , you’ve seen our raptors demonstrate their skillful aerial maneuvers. Experts at flying over the crowd and returning safely to their trainer’s glove, the raptors are used to the oohs and ahhs of a large audience in the flight yard. These birds know the subtle signals of their flight trainers and are practiced at staying on task, even when the peskiest neighborhood crows taunt them from the treetops. Lola gracefully glides between the trees, perfectly suited for quick maneuvering.  As proficient as these raptors are, once in a while keepers put them to the test and try out fresh scenarios. This allows the birds to learn new skills as well as strengthen their instinct to return to their handlers during the free flights. By introducing new terrain, keepers have a good idea of how tuned in the birds are. A quiet Friday a

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor If "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is your holiday jam, brace yourself: this is as close as it gets! This Fri., Nov. 20, head to the Zookeepers' Holiday Silent Auction to bid on a chance to go behind the scenes with 15-year-old female hippo Guadalupe to create your very own hippo-kiss painting. Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. With a mouth that can open to a massive 150 degrees and lips that are 2 feet wide, a hippo's kiss is unforgettable. As you can imagine, it's not always easy to make a hippo-kiss painting. But don't worry, we've got a how-to guide for that: Video: How to make hippo kisses (the definitive how-to guide) The silent auction is held by the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. Along with the hippo kiss painting experience, this year’s auction will feature extraordinary experiences found only at the zoo, including opportunities to pa

Posted by: Laura McComesky, Zookeeper Today is World Orangutan Day and in honor of our fab five, we know you'll love seeing how we celebrated orangutan awareness—and how you can take a role in helping save endangered Sumatran and Bornean orangutans—during our Asian Wildlife Conservation Day earlier this month. Tropical fruit generously provided to the orangutans by Uwajimaya. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. KIND Snacks was our official sponsor for the day and we thank and applaud them for their commitment to sourcing and using only certified sustainable palm oil. Family-owned Asian grocery Uwajimaya generously contributed a cornucopia of exotic tropical fruits for our orangutans. Melati delights in the durian and other tropical fruits. Photos by Carolyn Sellar/Woodland Park Zoo. Not everyone finds the treats as tempting as the orangutans. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. During our keeper talk, our orangutans enjoyed durian, jackfruit,

Posted by: Alissa Wolken, Communications Photos by: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo The tools of the trade for hand raising a wallaroo joey: 1. A heavy duty pillowcase-like pouch for sleepy time 2. A handmade bottle adapter equipped with customized parts all the way from Australia for feedings 3. A kangaroo plush so the baby can redirect his playful bites and kicks at something other than one of us! 4. A lot of patience, a lot of compassion, and a sharp focus on letting a wallaroo be a wallaroo When it became apparent at six-and-a-half months of age that wallaroo joey, Yuri, wasn’t receiving from his mother the nutrition he needed to grow, we were ready to step in. But just as importantly when hand raising an animal, we’ve been getting ready to step back out. For Yuri, first it took a village, but now it takes a (wallaroo) mob. The first days of hand raising Upon the first signs that intervention was needed, Yuri was taken to the zoo’s Animal Health Complex wh

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor When lead keeper Stephanie Miller tried to snap a photo of our male blue-billed curassow, he showed a lot of interest in her phone. Playing along, Stephanie reversed the camera so he could see himself on the screen. And that’s when he pecked at it, amazingly hitting the shutter button just right to take this perfect selfie! The duckface is over. It’s all about the curassowface now. And this critically endangered species from Colombia needs all the attention it can get! Look for this beauty in the zoo’s Conservation Aviary.

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Christine Anne is the Lead Keeper at Woodland Park Zoo’s East Team carnivore unit. Christine has been at Woodland Park Zoo for just two years, but she has been a keeper for over 13 years. Prior to working in Seattle she worked at San Diego Zoo Safari Park as the head lion keeper, as a bear manager at a brown bear rescue center in Sitka, Alaska, and as Assistant Supervisor of Carnivores at Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon. Her expertise in working with big cats is instrumental to the zoo, especially with three young, energetic new residents—the tiger brothers of Banyan Wilds . So, what is it really like to work with Liem, Eko and Olan? Christine treats a tiger to a spray of milk, a reward for working with keepers to practice health checks. By asking the tigers to stand up, keepers can  easily check their paws, belly and mouth. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. We asked Christine to give us the inside scoop on the tigers