Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications When the sunbittern unfolds its wings, a burst of color is revealed with a pattern that looks like two glaring eyes. The “eyes” can be used to frighten predators. Come see the sunbittern in the always warm Tropical Rain Forest building. It's the perfect escape on a rainy day. And now rainy days at the zoo might come with a little something extra--50% off zoo admission! With our new Rainy Day Discount , we'll activate a special coupon on select dreary days. Just visit our Rainy Day page to see if there's a coupon good for your next trip on a soggy day. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications There are big changes coming soon to our tiger and Asian bear exhibits as we get ready to make over the 60-year-old spaces into naturalistic, state-of-the-art homes for these animals. Next week we’ll unveil our final design plans for the new space. But before we get caught up in what’s to come, we want to tell you about some related changes underway—saying goodbye to sun bears at Woodland Park Zoo. As we started to gather ideas for the new exhibits that will replace this outdated part of the zoo, we had to get serious about planning for space. You see, we are seeking to deepen our commitment to and involvement in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Species Survival Plan captive breeding programs for Asian bears. To become a center for endangered Asian bear breeding, we need to use exhibit space more efficiently to allow for multiple generations of bears—from newborns to the elderly—and account for the need to separate bears that

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Enjoying the cold, wet snow mix this week? It’s nothing to our snow leopards . They come equipped for bundling up: snow leopards use their 3-foot-long tails as mufflers to protect their noses and lungs from freezing at night. Archive photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Meet some of our newest frugivores! Our colony of Indian flying foxes perches under the roof of their house. They have long-toed feet with sharp claws enabling them to roost hanging upside down. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Six Indian flying foxes have settled in (under, actually) nicely at the Adaptations Building. While it may be hard to tell which creature the Indian flying fox resembles most, its large eyeballs, pointy ears, reddish brown fur, long snout, and wingspan of up to six feet, all belong to the megabat Pteropus giganteus . Not quite a fox, although certainly similar in the looks department, the Indian flying fox is one of the larger fruit bats in the world, weighing as much as 3.5 pounds. In the wild, the Indian flying fox is found on the Indian sub-continent that extends from Pakistan to Southeast Asia and China, and south to the Maldive Islands. Flying fox inhabit enormous trees such as banyan, tamarind a

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications with David Selk, Horticulture Don’t you love the early signs of spring? Even though it’s still chilly and spring doesn’t technically start until March 20, some of the tiniest hints of the season are already in full force here at the zoo. With a few clues from our resident horticulture guru, David Selk, I went on a quick hunt for early blooms. Here are a few of the finds… Hello spring! Above is the flowering currant ( Ribes sanguineum ). Below is a fresh green sprout from an Indian Plum ( Oemlaria cerasiformis ), little green slivers of warmer days ahead. This is a view from the side—some pretty intense architecture! This plant is native to the Pacific Northwest, ranging from BC, Canada all the way to Santa Barbara, CA. A sure sign of spring, Indian Plum is among the first plants to leaf out and flower. You can begin to see delicate white flowers emerge from the buds. People used to make tea from the bark, and chewed

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications These wolves are at play, but the sight of their opened mouths would certainly be less fun for a prey animal.  A wolf's powerful jaws can exert about 1,500 pounds per square inch, about twice that of a dog!  (Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo)

Posted by: John Samaras, Penguin Keeper This post is part three 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 . As I look back on the time since my trip to participate in the Humboldt penguin health assessment in Peru, I feel fortunate to have been able to share my experiences with so many people.  From giving a slide presentation to zoo staff and volunteers, to including vivid details of the penguins’ native habitat in my public keeper talks and on special tours, I can draw on the memories of that incredible place and the time and experiences I had there. I began working with Humboldt penguins at the Akron Zoo in Ohio in 1998, and was immediately hooked!  I knew that these peculiar penguins were native to the desert coast of Peru and Northern Chile, they nested in burrows and their main prey was anchovies.  I learned about their behavior from a first-hand p