Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Hilary Aten, Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (Woodland Park Zoo  Partner for Wildlife ) A home in the remote forests of Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. In the remote forests of Papua New Guinea’s Huon Peninsula, we’re brewing up something exciting with subsistence farmers—the first coffee you’ll ever have the chance to drink from this region. Freshly picked coffee cherries. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. More than a tasty drink, this coffee is on a mission: to create a better life for the villagers of Papua New Guinea who have pledged their own land to conservation. What’s the story behind this project? Map of Papua New Guinea showing the YUS Conservation Area on the Huon Peninsula. Back in 2009, the indigenous clans of the Huon Peninsula worked with Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) to make history , pledging parcels of their own land to permanent

Posted by: John Samaras, Penguin Keeper This blog post is part two of a three-part series based on Woodland Park Zoo penguin keeper John Samaras’ work in Punta San Juan, Peru with a zoo conservation partner . In part one , I blogged about the diverse wildlife I encountered on my trip to Punta San Juan in Peru where I joined zoo professionals and Peruvian biologists in conducting an annual health assessment of the wild population of Humboldt penguins . Woodland Park Zoo’s penguin exhibit, which opened in May 2009, replicates the coast of Punta San Juan, a barren desert peninsula that juts out into the South Pacific in southern Peru. Here in part two, I’ll take you through the experience of administering the health assessments on these wild penguins, a challenging annual task that is critical to establish baseline data so we can track the health and any emergent needs of this endangered population. From the field: We stood at the edge of a high c

Posted by: Dr. Fred Koontz, Vice President of Field Conservation When you visit the zoo, you help us save wildlife. Now that conservation connection will be even more prominent when you visit with the launch of our new Quarters for Conservation program kicking off today. On your next visit to the zoo, you’ll find yourself with the power to vote for which zoo conservation program you’d like to support. Whether you are a member or just visiting for the day, you’ll receive a special token when you check in at the zoo—a token that gives you the power to vote and make a difference. Your token represents 25 cents from your zoo admission that will go directly to the zoo’s field conservation fund . We partner with 37 conservation programs in 50 countries around the world—from repopulating endangered turtles in our own Northwest backyard, to protecting tree kangaroo habitat in Papua New Guinea, and managing human-elephant conflict in Africa. With your token, you’ll

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The fall season is just a month away, which means it’s time for Woodland Park Zoo’s Fall Fecal Fest ! The annual poop event calls for you local gardeners to enter your bid to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread that Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been piling all summer. Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest. Composed of exotic species feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores, Zoo Doo is perfect for vegetables and annuals. Bedspread, the zoo’s premium composted mulch, is like Zoo Doo but with higher amounts of wood chips and sawdust. It’s the perfect mulch for perennial beds and woody landscapes such as native gardens, rose beds, shrubs, tree rings or pathways. Entries start today! For a chance to purchase Zoo Doo or Bedspread, send in a postcard from September 1 through September 23 only. You

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Our Matschie’s tree kangaroo joey is growing up fast, so we wanted to share some new photos and video and fill you all in on how it is getting along in its behind-the-scenes exhibit. Now eight months old, the joey has begun to leave its mother’s pouch for short bursts, doing a little exploring and then retreating back to the pouch for naps. We do not know the sex of the joey yet so it does not yet have a name. The joey is mostly eating leaves and munches on greens including kale, romaine and celery. Its mother, Elanna, is not so great at sharing, so the joey has learned to go after the food it wants for itself. Elanna and joey are in a behind the scenes exhibit to give them the quiet and comfort this sensitive species requires, especially since Elanna is a first time mother. We’re using cameras and students are assisting us with observations so we can study the interactions between the mother and joey and keep a close

Posted by: Janel Kempf, Education and Kirsten Pisto, Communications A few weeks ago, Woodland Park Zoo education specialist Janel Kempf and co-workers went to the West Seattle Library to present the zoo’s Little Critters animal encounter program to a group of children, as part of the zoo’s community outreach. Janel Kempf holding peregrine falcon D1. Photo by Kyle Doane/Woodland Park Zoo. Before the show started, a little girl and her mom came up to Janel, holding out a bundle of brightly wrapped tissue paper. Gifts for the raptors. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. When the team opened the gifts they discovered that the package contained some very thoughtful items for our raptors! It turns out the four-year-old girl had come to the zoo’s raptor program at the Columbia Library a few weeks before, and had been very moved by the plight of our rescued raptors including Chouette, the northern saw-whet owl . Chouette came to us after she was struck by a vehicle while bug-hun

Posted by: Susan Burchardt, Raptor Keeper Turkey vulture Modoc in flight at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Vultures are often depicted as harbingers of death, yet many vulture populations face threats of their own with some species facing extinction. We’re celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day on September 3 to help zoo visitors look past the vultures’ bad reputation and highlight their vital ecological niche as nature’s clean-up crew. California condor at San Diego Zoo. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Snowmanradio. Vultures are scavenging birds that help recycle and prevent the spread of disease. But serving as a clean-up crew by feeding on carrion was partially what led to the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)—a New World vulture—dipping down to a dismally low population of just 22 birds in the 1980s. The condors were dying from feeding on lead-poisoned carcasses, and poaching and habitat destruction compounded the problem. Zoos