Woodland Park Zoo Blog

People seem to notice the beautiful orb weaver spiders much more as the chilly fall weather begins. This is perhaps due mostly to the fact that the dew makes their elaborate web much more visible. Here's a great shot by our zoo photographer Ryan Hawk of an orb weaver with a "dangerous" meal---a hornet. It's amazing that the spiders are able to wrap-up these stinging critters safely. This photo is a great reminder of what a service spiders perform for us by gobbling up things that we consider pests! So even if spiders make you a bit edgy, remember they're out there working hard for you!

Sunday, September 30 is the last day for our Butterflies & Blooms exhibit for 2007. The butterfly exhibit is one of our most popula perennial exhibits. If you haven't gotten to see it yet this year, you've got until Sunday, otherwise it's a long wait until next May! Photo by Ryan Hawk

Staff and volunteers were saddened when Sukari , the elderly female giraffe on our African Savanna exhibit, had to be euthanized due to declining health because of age. At 25, she was extremely geriatric (giraffes in the wild usually live to be 10-15 years). Our expert Exhibits crew helped make her passing more comfortable by rigging a special platform for her to lay in. She had also had a custom-made waterbed for the last four years for her to lie down on. Keepers and the Animal Health team have been instrumental over the last few years to keep Sukari as comfortable as possible during her "golden years." Anyone with an old dog or cat knows how difficult it can be to care for an aging animal; just image when that animal is 18-feet tall! For zoo guests who grew up and remember visiting Sukari over the last 25 years, we've created a commemorative portrait, taken by our talented volunteer photographer Dennis Dow, available for purchase online through Pictopia . You can or

Woodland Park Zoo has participated in the Oregon silverspot butterfly breeding project for the last since 2000. These beautiful butterflies have not been seen in the wild, mostly the dunes and meadows along the Washington, Oregon and northern California coast, since 1990. Wanting to head off extinction, WPZ, along with Oregon Zoo and support from the Washington and U.S. Departments of Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and Lewis and Clark College are "headstarting" silverspots for release at our two zoos. We bring in eggs and care for them over the winter until they pupate. Just last month, staff from WPZ took down 162 pupated silverspots for release into a protected area on the Oregon Coast. In total, we have produced 492 pupae for release. We're happy to be helping one of our native butterflies survive and eventually thrive once again in our region.

Most of our conservation projects help people as much as animals. The African Waterhole and Dam Restoration project helps wildlife and the Maasai in Kenya, the newly funded Kibale Community Fuel Wood Project plants trees that are used both as sustainable fuel for the villagers who live near Uganda's Kibale National Park, but also create habitat for monkeys, chimps and other animals. Because of this, we recognize the power that Nobel prize winner Dr. Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement in Africa has had. Dr. Wangari Maathai has defied custom, tradition, and her own government to carry out the groundbreaking reforestation and human rights work that won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Maathai ’s Green Belt Movement, which has planted millions of trees across Africa, simultaneously embraces democracy and has played a crucial role in shaping modern Kenyan society. On September 19, she opens Seattle Arts & Lectures’ 20 th anniversary season to speak of her place as a

The zoo's "new" historic carousel is nearly 100 years old. Recently, one of the chariots was retrofitted to accommodate wheelchairs. It doesn't happen that often, but this week at the carousel we were happy to be able to give rides to about four disabled kids in wheelchairs. They were wheeled onto the ride, safely strapped in and off they went! It is very rewarding to be able to accommodate rides for disabled kids in wheelchairs, especially when we see the joy it brings to them. The carousel, a gift from Linda and Tom Allen and the Alleniana Foundation, opened last year and has been delighting everyone who rides the hand-crafted, antique horses. Funds from the carousel ticket sales help the zoo by providing money for animal care and other operating expenses. And it's just plain fun! - Photo of carousel in "full spin" by Ryan Hawk

On August 18, the zoo is hosting the first Snow Leopard Appreciation Day from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As you may know, snow leopards live in the mountainous areas in Central Asia and are increasingly endangered, with perhaps only about 3,000 or so left in the wild. Back in the 1980s, the zoo's former Education Curator, Helen Freeman, was particularly struck with these beautiful cats and formed the International Snow Leopard Trust, the oldest organization working to protect these cats. Over the years, the pressure on these animals has increased with people in snow leopard range areas poaching the animals for the illegal fur market or to protect their herds of goats and sheep that they rely on. What is now the Snow Leopard Trust, works with herding communities on anti-poaching programs and also has collaborated to create co-ops and other small businesses to help these people make a living from something other than poaching and to replace any income that may be lost from snow leopards