Woodland Park Zoo Blog

UPDATE: Our exhibit crew is putting the finishing touches on the new upright trees recently installed in silverback Vip’s gorilla group . They are adding deadfall and hanging vines and hammocks to make the trees more accessible and usable for the gorillas. Then the horticulture team will bring in soil and finish planting the area. We hope to have the gorillas back out and exploring these exciting new environmental enrichment items within the next few days. If you catch any photos of the gorillas checking out the new trees, please share! You can add them to our flickr slideshow by uploading them to flickr.com and tagging them with the phrase “woodlandparkzoo” or you can email them to us at webkeeper@zoo.org . Photo by Ryan Hawk.

Woodland Park Zoo's presitigious education award from AZA is in good company--AZA also awarded the zoo and its partners "Significant Achievement in International Conservation" for our support of the Tarangire Elephant Project . The Tarangire Elephant Project is one of 35 conservation programs supported by Woodland Park Zoo in over 40 countries. For 15 years, the Tarangire Elephant Project has been studying and protecting the elephants in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park and the surrounding area—as well as other iconic wildlife there including zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Having documented a gradual increase in the target elephant population over the years (linked to a decline in the massive ivory poaching of the 1970s and 1980s), other threats now loom including intense competition and conflict with a burgeoning human population. However, in an exemplary, long-term conservation partnership of zoos, governmental and non-governmental actors, and local comm

At the zoo today you may have seen this type of crane: And also this type of crane: This 250-ton crane using a 160-foot boom was on hand today to lift three 30-foot tall trees into the gorilla exhibit for silverback Vip’s group . You might not guess it, but gorillas are adept climbers, often building nests in trees in the wild. And though you’ll find lots of other trees and vegetation already in the gorilla exhibit, these trees are a bit different—they are made of steel pipes with reinforced concrete. Skillfully built, painted and installed by our talented exhibits crew, the new trees will serve as safe climbing structures for the gorillas’ enrichment, and they’ll resist rot and damage for years to come. Check out the trees’ creation and installation: Pete’s group in the adjacent gorilla exhibit will likely be back out this week, but Vip’s group will remain off view while the installation crew puts the finishing touches on the tree installation. We’ll report back on how the gorillas t

Hey zoo members! Our partners over at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture are offering you a special 2-for-1 rate for Burke admission on September 28 for their 10th annual Bug Blast event! Just be sure to show your zoo membership card at the Burke admissions desk for the discount. Learn yummy bug facts from “The Bug Chef,” David George Gordon, at Bug Blast. An author and chef, Gordon will be sharing facts about bug-eating cultures from around the world and demonstrating recipes from his Eat a Bug Cookbook. Yum! Lots of hands-on activities for all ages and fantastic bug collections for you to see up close. For more details on the event, visit the Burke Museum's Bug Blast site. If you know a kid who’s buzzing for more bugs, be sure to check out Woodland Park Zoo’s Bug Club for kids ages 5-12. Photo: The Bug Chef , photo by Barbara Kinney.

Every year, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums holds its national convention in order to allow zoo professionals to network, learn from one another and hold award ceremonies for the best exhibits and educational programs created during the previous year. This year's convention, held in Milwaukee, is no exception and we were pleased to just be awarded top honors for our Cultural Interpreter Program for last year's Maasai Journey. This program brought four Maasai gentlemen from Kenya to teach zoo visitors about their lives, and how they intertwine with African wildlife, on the savannas of Kenya. Thousands of people took part in their various programs, learning about the importance of water, thrilling to stories of their interactions with giraffes, zebra, and dozens of other wildlife species. We can't thank these four men enough for their contributions to this program: Kakuta Ole Hamisi, Sokoine Ntalamia, Kobole Partisan Ole Parsala, and Sammy Kiako Sipoi. They were able

Maybe you’ve spotted your best jaguar portrait flashing in our blog sidebar, or perhaps a photo of your kids enjoying the historic carousel. Wonder how it got there? We’re now sharing your zoo photos on our blog! To join in, all you have to do is upload your best zoo photos to flickr.com and tag them with the phrase “ woodlandparkzoo .” They’ll be automatically added to our photo slideshow. Not a flickr user? You can also add your zoo photos to our Facebook fan page !

Well, not crawling actually, but 50 of our Partula snails headed off on a British Airways jet to London Zoo on Tuesday. The reason? To be part of a study prior to a planned 2010 release back into their native Tahiti. Partula nodosa, a species of tree snail, have been extinct on their South Pacific island habitat for the last 25 years. But fortunately, several were saved by scientists and have since been raised in captivity. Four U.S. zoos currently breed Partula (St. Louis, Detroit, Akron) and the program is based here at Woodland Park. The international program, based at London and working with the Imperial College, will be examining the 50 snails shipped over to ensure they are healthy and do not contain any pathogens or parasites that may be harmful once they are released. Evening Magazine covered the momentous occasion with Partula program coordinator Ric Brewer and we hope to see the program air sometime in October or November. London reports the snails arrived safe, sound and sli