Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Roses may symbolize love and beauty to us, but to our gorillas, they symbolize snack time! Thanks to the organic methods our gardeners use in the Woodland Park Rose Garden , any trimmings of our blooms are perfectly edible and safe to eat for our gorillas . Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. In the summer, as the more than 3,000 rose plants in the nearly 90-year-old Rose Garden bloom, the zoo’s gardeners deadhead the plants, which means they remove old, spent blooms to keep the overall plant blooming longer. That waste could be composted, but zookeepers love to get their hands on the blooms to use as enrichment with our plant-eaters, most especially the gorillas! Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. The petals make their way into the gorilla exhibit two or three times a week in the summer at various hours to keep it interesting and unexpected for the apes. This week, we visited the gorillas on a Monday morning a

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Move over, One Direction. We've got our own band of boys at Woodland Park Zoo that is stealing hearts and making fans squeal. That’s right—after their first vet exam, we've learned our four Asian small-clawed otter pups are all boys! An otter pup gets his first check up from the zoo vet. The otters had their first check-up with the zoo's vets and are all healthy and hitting their benchmarks as growing pups. Still, they don’t do too much yet other than eat, sleep and play in their behind-the-scenes den. Even the playing isn't too advanced—no running or chasing, we’re still just at that pouncing and chewing on each other stage. The pups are now 9 weeks old. Weighing in at 1.2 – 1.4 pounds each, the pups are now big enough to get their feet wet. Swim lessons behind the scenes are going slowly. They’re beginning to dip their mouths in a small, shallow tub. Mom dips her mouth

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo There are no caps and gowns, but this is most certainly a graduation. Today marks the first day of the rest of their lives for 31 graduates of Woodland Park Zoo’s Living Northwest conservation project, the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project . After hatching and being raised at the zoo for the first ten months of their lives, these endangered native turtles are ready to move on and re-enter the wetlands of Washington to help rebuild the wild population. Each turtle is weighed, measured and notched for identification. To get here, the 31 turtles first had to pass their final exams, which included a weigh-in and measuring to ensure they’re big enough to survive on their own in the wild. You must be this long to ride. Those who didn’t make the grade have been left back—but they’ll have the chance to take the test again next year after they have done a bit more growing, with a g

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo It’s a boy! Our giraffe calf got his first check-up with the zoo’s vet team yesterday and he is healthy and doing well. Keepers stand on the scale with the giraffe calf. Weighing the calf was an interesting exercise. First, we placed a towel over his head to eliminate distractions and keep him calm during the exam. Then four keepers walked onto the scale with the calf to help him stay in place long enough to get an accurate measurement. Subtract the combined weight of the keepers, and you've got a weight for the calf—144 pounds! Measuring the calf's height. We broke out the measuring tape and discovered our calf is even taller than we first estimated, measuring in at 6 feet. Mom watched the whole exam and remained calm and comfortable. Blood tests from the exam show that the calf is nursing normally and that mom Olivia is passing on necessary antibodies and proteins through he

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Standing in front of its mother about 13 hours after birth.  Woodland Park Zoo’s newest little one is in fact quite big: taller than some of its zookeepers, even! Welcome to the world a 5½-foot-tall giraffe, born to 6-year-old mom Olivia last night, August 6 at 7:03 p.m. The labor lasted about 1.5 hours and the little one was already standing just another 1.5 hours after birth. This is the face we've been waiting for! Zookeepers were on watch round the clock, and were able to hit record on our video camera just in time to catch the labor begin after a 14- to 15-month gestation period. Olivia wandered in and out of frame, and this video shows the breathtaking moments we were able to catch, from the baby emerging feet first, to its earliest moments after birth, including first efforts at trying to stand. The calf is standing, nursing from mom and bonding with her, all good si

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Join us this Sat., August 10 for Asian Wildlife Conservation Day . Pick up your event passport and get stamped at activities throughout the day to learn all about the endangered wildlife of Asia and what you can do to help. Here are just some of the animals and conservation programs you’ll encounter. Tree kangaroo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Tree Kangaroos Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program is empowering local people to protect an 187,000-acre forest sanctuary for this endangered species. The land also is the source of water, plants and animals that supply local people with their livelihoods and health. If we save the forests, we help them all. Take Action for Tree Kangaroos  Drink coffee, save tree kangaroos! Look for YUS PNG coffee at Woodland Park Zoo and Caffe Vita locations. Made by farmers who dedicated their land to tree kangaroo protection, the coffee represents an eco-friendly

Posted by: Peter S. Miller, Zookeeper and Rebecca Whitham, Communications Loki the Komodo dragon. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Woodland Park Zoo said goodbye this week to a long-time resident, 19-year-old Komodo dragon Loki. Loki’s mobility had been declining over the past year from chronic age-related degenerative joint disease. Keepers had given him supportive care, but we ultimately had to make the tough but humane decision to euthanize him this week once he lost his appetite and developed breathing difficulties that did not respond to treatment. We know how much each one of the zoo’s animals means to our visitors. Zookeeper Peter S. Miller reflects on what made Loki such a special addition to the zoo: The Buddha said, “The energy of life is neither created nor destroyed. It moves along from one sentient being to the next.” This week the energy of Loki’s life passed onto its next place. Part will always feel as if it’s with me. We have worked with each other f