Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Carolyn Austin Sellar, Zookeeper This is the third entry in our new Animal Spotlight series... For as long as many of you may remember, Pete the male silverback gorilla, has headed up our Gorilla Group 1 . This year Pete turned 43 and is the oldest male gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo. Despite having some of the typical complaints of old age, including arthritis and yes, even developing a bald spot (I know hair loss for a male can be embarrassing), Pete is in relatively good health considering his age. The average life span for gorillas in captivity is late 30s to early 40s with females living longer than males. In the wild, it is roughly 30-35 years. The longest living captive gorilla on record was 55 (a female). Although Pete is well into his golden years, he is still going strong. He has always been, and continues to be, the gentleman gorilla and always says “Thank you, tastes good!” by way of his grunts of contentment while he eats. When Pete first came to Woodland Park Zo

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Mayor McGinn proclaimed March 7-11 “Woodland Park Zoo Field Conservation Week.” The proclamation ushers in a huge week for Woodland Park Zoo’s growing role in conservation as we host an international conservation conference and summit this week. Nearly 250 zoo and aquarium conservationists, field biologists, wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations from 23 different countries and disciplines will come together for the biennial Zoos and Aquariums Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference. The conference brings together some of the most successful field conservationists to share knowledge and findings, build stronger conservation bridges between wildlife and local communities, and establish direct links to zoos, aquariums and their stakeholders. The need for conservation solutions is more urgent than ever. On a global scale, the planet’s precious wildlife is facing the worst extinction crisis since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million y

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The King's Speech may have taken home the Oscar, but the academy of zoo fans voted for their own Best Picture this past week and the award goes to... This otter video , featuring our two river otters enjoying a heart-shaped, fish-filled popsicle for Valentine's Day, took home the prize of WPZ Best Picture with 29% of the vote. We want to thank you all for voting! It helps us get a better sense of what types of videos you all enjoy most and sparks some ideas for what we might do next. Stay tuned to this blog or our YouTube channel to catch new videos when they debut--one of them may just be a Best Picture winner next year. Video produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Carolyn Austin Sellar, Zookeeper This is the second installment of our new series: Animal Spotlight . Everybody knows Nina… if not by name then by sight. Yes, she has wrinkles (we call them her “distinguishing character lines”). Yes, she is a little bit round (hey, she’s short for her weight). She often holds a stick (every 43-year-old female should have a scepter or staff). Her favorite colors are red and pink, and yes, her tongue does stick out when she is relaxed! At the gorilla unit we can all tell Nina’s mood by what we call the “tongue gauge.” When annoyed, her lips purse tightly and her tongue is completely in her mouth. But when relaxed and happy, out comes the tongue! This year Nina turned 43. She is our oldest female western lowland gorilla here at Woodland Park Zoo. Now a great grandmother, Nina has seen a lot of changes at the zoo. She is very relaxed and unfazed when the younger female gorillas act up and is considered the solid rock in the group. She keeps eve

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Last week we posted a first look at the joey that wallaroo Fergie is carrying. At the time, all we could see was a tail. But zookeeper Wendy Gardner was in the right place at the right time and snapped these new pics revealing the face of the joey in the pouch. The joey was born at Woodland Park Zoo last September to first-time mother Fergie and father Harry. Fergie is on public view in the zoo’s Australasia exhibit and can be identified by the green tag in her right ear. You’ll most often find her in the indoor portion of the exhibit (except on sunny days when she ventures outside) and your best chance to get a glimpse of the joey is when she cleans her pouch. Photos by Wendy Gardner/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The Oscars are coming up and we have some Best Picture nominees of our own featuring Woodland Park Zoo’s superstars—our animals, our staff and our conservation efforts. We’ve picked five top nominees from videos produced in 2010 for our YouTube channel and now through February 27, you can cast your vote here for your Best Picture choice. And the Best Picture nominees are... Lion training Penguin chicks Flamingo squeaks Moment of silence Otter valentine Cast your vote for WPZ Best Picture We’re always experimenting with video ideas and our diverse nominees show off that variety. Your votes and feedback help us understand what our viewers want and help shape upcoming videos. Thanks for participating! Videos produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. See more at www.youtube.com/woodlandparkzoo .

Posted by: Ric Brewer, Communications That’s not an alien poking a snaky arm out of wallaroo Fergie’s pouch, but the naked tail of her young joey. Young wallaroos, a type of small kangaroo from Australia, are born weighing less than a gram and roughly the size of a bean. The blind, hairless babies make the long trek after birth into the mother’s pouch where they suckle and develop over several months. Fergie’s joey, born September 14th, currently weighs somewhere in the range of 500-1,000 grams and at a little over 6 months old, is only just beginning to be seen sticking arms, legs or, in this case, its tail, outside mom’s pouch. By around 7 months, the joey will emerge from the pouched, fully furred but remaining close to mom for another 3-4 months—about late June or early July for this joey. The gender of the joey isn't yet known. Fergie is on exhibit in our Australasia exhibit. The best chance to get a glimpse of the joey is when Fergie is cleaning her pouch, even though zoo vis