Woodland Park Zoo Blog

There is a disturbing article in the October issue of Smithsonian Magazine about recent incursions into mountain gorilla habitat in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The article details the account of three mountain gorillas were slaughtered by rebel forces for food. So called "bushmeat" continues to be a threat for many species, but is particularly detrimental to the tiny populations of mountain gorillas which number perhaps 800 total in their three range countries. Read the complete article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/guerilla.html The online version doesn't contain the disturbing shots of villagers bringing the three gorillas' bodies out of the forest to be buried. Woodland Park Zoo supports two conservation programs focusing on gorillas: the Mbeli Bai Project that studies western lowland gorillas in the Congo and the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' Bushmeat Task Force which helps with programs to help curtail the bushmeat trade in Africa

We have many wonderful and extremely talented volunteer photographers who help us document the zoo and our animals. These folks include Brittney Bollay, Dennis Dow, Mat Hayward and Dale Unruh among our most prodigious and frequent shutterbugs. Mat recently created a slideshow on his blog that documents some of his recent shots. Visit him and tell him what you think? http://www.mathaywardphoto.com/Zoo.htm

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