Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Flamingos are getting all the attention these days, but there’s another exhibit opening this weekend that you don’t want to miss… The always popular Butterflies and Blooms exhibit re-opens for the summer season on Fri., May 23 (now free with zoo admission). You’ll be surrounded by nearly 1000 free-flying butterflies representing 15 North American species . If you’re lucky, you may even get one to land on you. Here’s a tip: butterflies are attracted to bright colors! Zebra longwing butterfly , photo by Dennis Conner.

Last summer, the zoo introduced a new up-close animal experience for visitors---Giraffe Feeding! More than 16,000 people took advantage of this special encounter, feeding the giraffes leafy browse from an elevated platform. We're again offering this unique experience, a favorite for both kids and adults to be close to these amazing giants of the African savanna. Participants get to see the giraffes' purplish-black nearly two-foot long tongues as they wrap around a branch to strip off their favorite leaves and witness their luxurious eyelashes. Keepers are on-hand to help out and reveal the fascinating details about giraffe natural history and how they are cared for here. So ask lots of questions! Giraffe feedings will be held twice daily until September 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and again from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $5.00 per person; free for kids 2 years and under. Photo by Ryan Hawk

Q: What's the fastest way to move a flock of flamingos from one place to another? A: Carry them! The 27 members of the zoo’s flock of Chilean flamingos were carried one by one to their new exhibit today. They won’t make their public premiere until Memorial Day weekend, but we’ve moved them in a bit early to let them get acquainted with their (still off-view) new home. After settling in their holding area for a few hours, the birds paraded into their new exhibit and have begun to explore their surroundings. The keepers are watching the birds closely to see how they adjust to the new space -- several birds have already been observed drinking from the pool. Want to see them for yourselves? Don't miss the opening day celebration on Sat., May 24, filled with South American music, flamingo programs and giveaways, stilt walkers and pink cupcakes from Cupcake Royale. See you there! Photos by Melissa Wheeler.

A wild, male, juvenile black bear that was captured in an area around Renton by the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife had suffered a dislocated hip and a fractured femur and the Progressive Animals Welfare Society based in Lynnwood (otherwise known as PAWS) was asked to help care for the bear's injuries. With help from the zoo's Animal Health team, the PAWS veterinarians and animal health care members, and surgeons from Seattle's Animal Surgical Clinic, a full exam was performed and surgery to repair the damaged leg. Dr. John Huckabee with PAWS reports that the surgery was successful and the bear is now on the mend and recovering his mobility in his cast. PAWS has a long-time, and very successful, wildlife rehabilitation program and the zoo was delighted to be able to help provide professional support and facilities for the procedure. PAWS and the zoo have collaborated on several projects in the past, including the state laws banning private ownership of potential

Towan, the 40-year-old orangutan at the zoo, has done it again. One of his preferred pastimes is the creation of beautiful (at least to our eyes and who knows, maybe his, too!) abstract artworks. Just in time for Mother's Day, he's painted two colorful masterpieces. We've put the paintings on Ebay in order to help raise funds for the 2009 International Congress of Zoo Keepers (ICZK) conference, to be held here in September 2009. ICZK joins keepers from around the globe in order to meet, network and learn valuable new insights into their profession and to help them share new techniques in order to care for the animals in their institutions in innovative new ways. The bidding is on now until May 8, so bid early...and often! Click here to read more about the ICZK and make your bid.

Who doesn't love a frog? From Kermit to the to aural symphony provided each spring by peepers and chorus frogs, frogs play an important role in the environment. In honor of frogs and our other amphibian friends, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the accrediting body for more than 210 zoos and aquariums around the U.S., has declared 2008 the Year of the Frog. Globally, amphibians are in decline due to habitat loss, pollution and the deadly effects of the chytrid fungus, a fungus that kills the majority of animals it infects. Local frog populations are now beginning to see the effects of chytrid. Woodland Park Zoo, in association with the Alliance of Zoos & Aquariums, a Northwest regional consortium of zoos and aquariums, and the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department, are banding together to help in a recovery project for the Oregon spotted frog, a native species which has declined significantly in 78 percent of its historic range from southern B.C. to northern Califor

The black-and-white colobus monkeys on exhibit in our Tropical Rain Forest area have received some additional exhibit-mates and so now five colobus make the spot their home. Last week brought introductions to each other. Many species of monkeys are highly social but highly territorial and hierarchical so careful introductions are vital to incorporating new members into the group. Soon the new members were exploring the exhibit and getting their social nuances worked out. Colobus are native across equitorial Africa and are known for their dramatic black coats with flowing white hair. The name "colobus" is derived from the Greek word meaning "docked" or "mutilated." Colobus monkeys once were thought to be abnormal because they have no thumb, or only a small stub where the thumb would usually be. This is actually an adaptation rather than a mutilation which allows colobus monkeys to easily travel along the tops of branches quadripedally. (Photo by Dennis Dow)