Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rob Goehrke, Education “ Hello, my name is Jeremy and I am a part of ZooCrew and for the winter session we were studying wolves. Now you may think wolves are these dangerous creatures that will kill anything they seem to find. But to be honest that's not completely true. ” Jeremy is an 8th grader at Pacific Middle School. As a member of ZooCrew , he got to work on a project that is tied to specific conservation careers. He and a few of his classmates chose to make a short film about a boy raised by wolves in order to highlight some misconceptions about this animal. After receiving ongoing feedback from of our Digital Communications Manager, they premiered their film at the zoo. (Above photo: Jeremy with the zoo's Digital Communications Manager inviting visitors to view the film.) After finishing their projects, ZooCrew students participated in a mock debate to delve into some of the complexities and challenges of conservation work. Since our winter to

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications You often see our meerkats piled above ground, but it's in underground burrows where they typically make their home. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. However, despite the fact that they are excellent diggers, these burrow dwellers are more often burrow borrowers, as they usually don’t build the burrows themselves. Meerkats will often settle into burrows previously dug by other animals such as ground squirrels and other mongooses.

Caileigh Robertson, Communications We’re teaming up with Umpqua Bank to name our new playful pair of Asian small-clawed otters , residents of the new Bamboo Forest Reserve exhibit. Two lucky winners will each take home a $100 Umpqua Bank savings account*, a ZooParent adoption, and a visit from an Umpqua Bank ice cream truck for 100 friends! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo The contest began Friday, May 24 and will continue through Saturday, June 15, 5:00 p.m. PST. As a tribute to the otters' native southern and southeastern Asia range, all qualified name entries must be submitted in the Malay language. The winning names will be chosen by a panel of zoo judges. Follow these three simple steps to name our otters: 1.     Look up words or names in the Malay language. Choose two names, one for him and one for her. 2.     Pick up a ballot at any Seattle area Umpqua Bank store, clip out a ballot from select issues of The Seattle Times, or submit your otter names

Caileigh Robertson, Communications Our three jaguar cubs received their first hands-on exams last week and, at 3 months old, keepers determined the cubs’ personalities far outweigh their 10-pound frames. The trio—born in March to our jaguar pair,  7-year-old Nayla and 14-year-old father Junior —has been under the watchful eye of jaguar mother Nayla since their birth.  Jaguar births are rare, and as a “near threatened” species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the jaguar triplets are a major milestone for  Woodland Park Zoo’s jaguar conservation efforts . Triple trouble in the cub den. Photo by Jamie Delk/Woodland Park Zoo Health updates were put on hold while first-time mother Nayla demonstrated natural motherly care and protection, so much that keepers couldn’t get hands on the cubs until late last week. Staff learned the healthy triplets include two girls and one boy, all exhibiting curiously different personalities. Photo

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications A male red-crowned crane chick joined our baby boom May 13 and brought with it hope for the endangered species and its counterparts in the wild. The fluffy, brown chick is finding his way through the wetland exhibit with a little help from his parents, who are no strangers to rearing healthy chicks.  The chick’s 21-year-old parents, Niles and Maris, were donated to Woodland Park Zoo in 1992 from Japan’s Kobi Oji Zoo with hopes of bringing more red-crowned cranes into the world. Red-crowned cranes are severely endangered in their native habitat, with an estimated 2,700 cranes remaining in the Amur Basin of Northeast Asia and only 80 cranes in institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Since the species joined Woodland Park Zoo more than two decades ago, the zoo has celebrated 13 successful hatchings from the pair. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo The new red-crowned crane chick is on a missi

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications We are getting so excited for our ninth annual Bear Affair: Pacific Northwest Conservation day presented by Brown Bear Car Wash on June 8! At Woodland Park Zoo’s Bear Affair, 700-pound grizzly bear brothers, Keema and Denali, show us why it is important to be bear-safe in the Pacific Northwest. Whether you are hiking and camping in the mountains or simply spending the summer in your own backyard, being bear-safe can help protect you and your family as well as keep our Northwest wildlife safe. Woodland Park Zoo teamed up with local singer Star Anna to create a song about our favorite bear-safety tips. Rock out to the song this summer and remember the rules! Don’t leave those treats out: dog food, bird seed ( in the winter), barbecue scraps, camping dishes and snacks, anything that smells tasty such as toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen and hairspray can be an attractant for bears. Clean it up! They sniff for garbage: A bear-

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications This spring, we asked kids to complete the picture in our Tiger Tails drawing contest to get us pumped for phase two of the Bamboo Forest Reserve. Thanks to all of the amazing young artists who entered the contest through our MyZoo magazine kids section. We received over 130 entries, some from as far away as Germany. It was a tough decision, but we had a lot of help – 25 staff from across the zoo assisted in judging. We considered detail, use of color, perspective, inspiration and creativity. We were all thrilled with your imagination and talent! Below are the grand prize champs and their artwork. Drumroll please, and the prizes are… Zoo Favorite Age 2-5 “Sneaky Tiger” Logan Myers, 4 Zoo Favorite Age 6-12 “Bamboo Bengal” Samantha Schallon, 11  Logan and Samantha will both receive a zoo tiger adoption and plush, 4 giraffe feeding tickets and their framed drawing. Most Inspiring “Tiger and Friends