Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications When FedEx pilot Captain Mark Abbott heard from his sister Jo Roach, a zookeeper at Woodland Park Zoo, that a special delivery was due to the zoo in December, he pulled some strings to get in on the momentous occasion: the arrival of Leonel, a 30-year-old silverback gorilla, via FedEx to Seattle (Leonel pictured left). The brother-sister team is no stranger to great apes: Jo as a keeper at WPZ for 19 years and Captain Abbott who lived with his wife in Africa for years. But for the first time, their work converged as Woodland Park Zoo made preparations to ship Leonel from his last temporary zoo location in Columbus to his new permanent home in Seattle. Leonel flew FedEx to Seattle in the company of a zoo vet and one of his new keepers-to-be, Traci Amerine. This very special cargo was novel for 14-year FedEx veteran Captain Abbott—he had flown with horses before, but never an animal quite like Leo. Though he could not see or hear Leonel while in

Thank you to all who came out for the opening of Seattle’s first non-human art show ! Hundreds of animal- and art-lovers alike funneled in throughout the evening, taking in the work, chatting with zookeepers about the animal artists, and enjoying the reception provided by PengWine . Here's a proud new owner of artwork by orangutan Towan, standing next to her purchase! Many of the pieces sold quickly—but don’t worry, all of the works will continue to show through March 5 at Art/Not Terminal Gallery in Seattle. It’s FREE to visit, so please stop by. Photos: Ryan Hawk (top), Ric Brewer.

Looks like Woodland Park Zoo's new female siamang has taken to the trees after her recent introduction to the outdoor exhibit. Volunteer photographer Dennis Dow, who snapped these shots, said "She seemed very comfortable as well as athletic as she swung through the branches." You can find the siamangs in the Trail of Vines exhibit in Woodland Park Zoo's Tropical Asia biome. Photos by Dennis Dow.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Yesterday, Asian elephant Chai put some finishing touches on a painting for the Saturday premiere of Seattle's first ever animal art show . KING 5 Evening Magazine filmed as Chai used her trunk to apply a paintbrush to the canvas, with direction and reward from her keepers. Reward comes in the form of tasty apples and carrots, of course! The final piece, measuring in at a dramatic 4'x6' and titled "Tres, Trio, Drei," is a group effort by Woodland Park Zoo's three elephants. The left most portion was painted by African elephant Watoto, the middle by Asian elephant Bamboo, and the right by Chai. Both Bamboo and Chai also "signed" their portions with a trunk mark. "Tres, Trio, Drei" and more than 20 other paintings will be available for purchase at Art/Not Terminal Gallery through March 5. Photos by Ryan Hawk.

Meet Briony, Woodland Park Zoo’s new female siamang . Briony arrived at the zoo last fall in need of a new partner after having lost her previous mate. She has been adjusting well to life with Simon, Woodland Park Zoo’s male siamang. This week, Briony has been adventuring outside the familiarity of her indoor exhibit space to the beautiful outdoor landscape the siamangs share—though so far she has stayed pretty close to the door! Over time, as Briony builds her bond with Simon and becomes more comfortable with her outdoor exhibit, we hope to find the two high up in the treetops singing their new duet together. Siamang vocals are so powerful that many zoo neighbors in Phinney Ridge and Fremont are able to hear the siamangs’ song in their homes. Sutera, Simon’s previous partner, was called on a Species Survival Plan (SSP) mission to Little Rock Zoo to be matched with a 5-year-old male. This pair has been selected by the SSP as a good match to best preserve genetic diversity in the capti

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Woodland Park Zoo hit a major milestone this week in the construction of our new Humboldt penguin exhibit , opening in May: We've filled the penguin pool for the first and last time! Why is that important? Well, to help "green" the exhibit, instead of traditional fill and dump practices, we will fill the penguin pool only once. Then, we will use the earth’s natural systems to ensure a pristine water environment for these endangered birds while preventing stormwater runoff from entering our lakes, thus contributing to the health of Puget Sound. With the green technologies, the exhibit will save approximately 3,000,000 gallons of water and 75,000,000 BTUs of energy each year! That’s the equivalent of saving 24 million pints of drinking water, and heating five, new two-bedroom townhouses each year. How are we saving so much water and energy? The exhibit will filter stormwater on site in two ways. First, it will collect rainwater fr

Everyone's favorite ocelot kittens received their 18-week physical examination from Woodland Park Zoo's Animal Health staff last week. The female twins--named Novia and Corisandra--were weighed and measured, had their blood drawn and received their final set of vaccinations as kittens. All is well and the kittens will soon begin their introduction to the ocelot exhibit. Ocelot footprints were also taken during the exam for sale at the upcoming animal art show , opening this Saturday, 2/7.