Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Savvy zoo visitors know that while snowfall at the zoo might make it hard to spot some of the animals, others are picture perfect out in the elements. The novel weather brings out the inquisitive nature in many zoo animals and creates a beautiful backdrop for shutterbugs. Here are some of my favorite photos our zoo photographers have snapped of Woodland Park Zoo’s residents in the Seattle snow: If you snap any great snow photos at the zoo, please upload them to our Facebook page fan photo album or add them to the slideshow featured on our blog sidebar by tagging them on flickr.com with the phrase “woodlandparkzoo.” Photos by Ryan Hawk and Dennis Dow.

Posted by: Ric Brewer, Communications Consider this your "word of the day." Synanthropes are defined as animals that have adapted to human environments. These would include crows, rats, opossums, raccoons...you get the idea! Recently, a student performed his master's thesis on wild crows that made their home on the grounds of a south-central New York state zoo. The student designed a vending machine that would dispense peanuts when the crows pushed coins into a slot. The wily crows soon caught on, realizing that when they put coins in, food came out. Slowly the coins were removed which prompted the black birds to start scouring the zoo grounds for loose coins. The experiment was so successful that the student founded the Synanthropy Foundation in order to study synanthropic behavior in other animals. Now if my cat would just learn to make me breakfast...

And now for Part II of our Did You Know blog series tackling some of the most frequently asked questions from zoo fans and visitors about how the zoo works. Keep this one in mind over the holidays before you purchase any animals as gifts that may not be wanted or easily cared for: _____________________________________ Did you know? We can’t accept donated animals Many times throughout the year, we are contacted by members of the public, requesting that we “adopt” their unwanted animal, mostly birds and reptiles such as boas, pythons, lizards and others. For the most part, we cannot accept these animals for a variety of reasons. First is the sheer number of animals; if we accepted every green iguana we were asked to take, we would quickly be an iguana-only zoo! Second is health. Every animal that comes to the zoo must enter a quarantine period to ensure they are in general good health and are not exhibiting any symptoms of potentially contagious diseases. This not only affects them, it

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications No art collection is complete without an original painting by Woodland Park Zoo's 40-year-old orangutan, Towan. And with the holidays here, now's your chance to give a unique gift to the animal lover in your life. Towan's latest work, a 16"x20" painting done in festive acrylic red and green to reflect the theme of the holiday season, comes framed behind glass in a matte black wood frame. Included is a certificate of authenticity. Bidding has begun on eBay , ending December 12 at 10:36:30 PST. Don't miss your chance! Funds raised through this eBay auction will help support the 2009 conference of the Third Annual International Congress of Zookeepers/36th American Association of Zookeepers National Conference to be held at Woodland Park Zoo. This combined ICZ/AAZK conference represents the first time these two professional zoo keeper organizations have joined to bring together animal care professionals from around the w

Posted by: Jenny Mears, Education Programs Coordinator Have you always wanted to attract more wildlife to your yard, but need a little help? Looking for local resources on backyard habitats including events, workshops and websites? Then check out Woodland Park Zoo's Backyard Habitat blog ! This blog is updated weekly with local resources on everything from native plant sales and backyard habitat festivals to updates on bird feeders from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. You'll also receive seasonal updates on such topics as when to clean out nestboxes, when to look for mason bees, and when to prune trees and shrubs! Photo by Dennis Connor.

We get dozens of emails a day, and often the same questions come up again and again. It seems there are some common misconceptions about how the zoo works, so we thought we’d post responses to some of those most frequently asked questions in a new “Did you know?” blog feature. Look for “Did you know?” posts over the next few weeks. ________________________________________ Did you know? The majority of the animals at the zoo are not “tame." Many people contact us asking to go in and pet the tigers or play with the monkeys, thinking that because the animals are in a zoo, they must be tame. In fact, we make every effort to ensure that the animals retain their wild behaviors and so even zookeepers do not go directly into exhibits with the animals (except the domestic cows, sheep, goats and chickens, of course!). So how do we care for them? Each day, our animals are visually monitored for their health and well being and we use what is called operant conditioning training for managing t

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications We've been updating you frequently with behind-the-scenes photos of the two ocelot kittens. And while it's easy (and fun) to get caught up in how cute they are, it's important to remember that these kittens are also ambassadors for their endangered wild counterparts. Ocelots are still in high demand for the fur industries in Europe and Asia, which leads to abuse of the already existing laws protecting ocelots and other small cats. Ocelot numbers are also decreasing rapidly as a result of habitat destruction and the black market pet trade. Threatened throughout their entire range, ocelots are also becoming exceedingly rare in several areas. In the U.S., ocelots once ranged throughout the southwest from Arizona to Louisiana, yet now less than 100 ocelots are estimated to be left in the U.S. For simple ways to help save endangered species, visit our How You Can Help webpage. Photos: Ocelots at 8 weeks, by Ryan Hawk.