Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Julie Webster, Zoo volunteer and Backyard Habitat class participant Editor’s note: Woodland Park Zoo is once again offering its popular Backyard Habitat classes to help you bring more wildlife to your yard. Former class participant and zoo volunteer, Julie Webster, shares how the lessons she learned have transformed her urban garden. When I first signed up for Woodland Park Zoo’s Backyard Habitat workshop, I was already mindful of the four basic needs I had to meet to support local wildlife in my yard: food, water, shelter and a place to raise young. But it was in the workshop that I really came to understand the importance of cover and plant layering—the essentials to diversifying a habitat—and how these principles could be applied even in a small, urban garden. Maple in my yard before I learned about layering through the Backyard Habitat classes. Photo courtesy of Julie Webster. Layering isn't specifically listed in the four basic needs, but go to the fores

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Although toucans and hornbills look very similar, they are from two completely different families of birds. This is a great example of what is called convergent evolution. Toucans and hornbills are beautiful, fascinating creatures and throughout time, they have both adapted similarly to survive in similar ecological niches, despite the great geographical divide between them. Toucans reside in Central and South America, while hornbills are found only in Africa and Asia. Toucan (left) and hornbill (right) look similar though they are unrelated. Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. They both play the role of forest omnivore, feeding on fruits, insects and small creatures, including bird eggs, lizards and young mice. Their similar bills come in handy when foraging for food. Both groups of birds nest in cavities. These large bills also play a part in protecting eggs and nestlings from potential predators. So how do you tell the

Posted by: African Savanna zookeepers Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Chioke means “gift from above” and our big male giraffe was exactly that. He came to Woodland Park Zoo from Oakland Zoo in the spring of 2007, and right away you could tell he was a special guy. His full name is Chioke Biton Amani McKinley, though he had the nickname Toaster (as in the Brave Little Toaster) because he had health issues to overcome from when he was very young. Sadly, Chioke continued to have intermittent health concerns, and he passed away last month. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. It usually takes an animal a while to start to show trust in its keepers, but right from the get go Chioke, and his brother Kipande, showed great interest in what their keepers were up to, and that continued through his last days with us. Chioke’s willingness to interact with both the keepers and the public is what made him a fixture of our giraffe experience every year. Chioke met and connect

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Unlike the largely solitary snow leopard or jaguar, lions are the most social of the big cats, regularly living in groups known as prides. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lions live in matriarchal societies, where lionesses make up the majority of the pride and take on various group responsibilities. In most prides, lionesses live among their cubs , sisters and female cousins. A few males live within the group, though most are unrelated. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Lionesses are slender, making them more agile and faster than the males, which is helpful since the females are the primary hunters within the pride. While females hunt, the males guard their territory and protect the cubs from larger predators. Once old enough, male offspring will be run out of the pride and forced to join a bachelor pride until they can dominate a pride of their own. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Have you visi

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Two of Woodland Park Zoo’s quadruplet lion cubs need names, and we need your help! Enter the naming contest for a chance to win an amazing zoo prize pack, including a private viewing at the lion exhibit with a zookeeper! We’re in search of Zulu or Sotho names for one male cub and one female cub. The languages reflect a part of the range where South African lions live. A judging panel of zoo staff will select the cubs’ names from your submissions. The other two cubs will also receive Zulu or Sotho names, this time chosen by zookeepers and long-time zoo donors who have helped bring big cats to Woodland Park Zoo. Need some inspiration? Here is a little bio on each of the two cubs to spark some ideas. Male cub. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This male cub likes to rough around with his brother and often finds himself in mud. When not chasing his brother, sisters or mom, he can usually be spotted jumping on logs and wrestling st

Posted by: Jenny Mears, Education Interested in pursuing your degree through the Advanced Inquiry Program?  The application deadline is February 28! Woodland Park Zoo has teamed up with Project Dragonfly from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio to offer the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP), an exciting Master’s program for a broad range of environmental and education professionals, including classroom teachers, zoo and aquarium professionals, and informal educators. The AIP offers a ground-breaking graduate degree focused on inquiry-driven learning as a powerful agent for social change, public engagement, and ecological stewardship. Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) is one of seven institutions across the country that offers the AIP Master’s. The first AIP cohort at WPZ started in 2011 and students have already reported positive changes in their personal and professional lives. We asked Julia Ward, a Whittier Elementary fifth grade teacher and member of that cohort, to illustrate the impact

Posted by: Dr. Deborah B. Jensen, WPZ President and CEO Dr. Deborah B. Jensen. Photo by Matt Hagen. Kermit the Frog said it well:  “It's not that easy being green.” Still, the actions we take every day impact the wildlife and habitats that surround us. As a society, how we deal with resource depletion, environmental pollution and climate change will decide the fate of the many animals and landscapes we love. Northwesterners care deeply about this region’s natural heritage.  As a conservation leader, so does Woodland Park Zoo. And so do our city’s leaders. Mayor Mike McGinn has asked the entire community to comment on a new Climate Action Plan for Seattle, which proposes ways our city can become carbon neutral by 2050. The ambitious plan follows the first period of agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions outlined in the global Kyoto Protocol, which concluded in 2012. I encourage you to explore the city’s plan and join the dialogue. Such a big goal requires building