Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Terry Blumer, ZooStore Photos by: Terry Blumer/Woodland Park Zoo This entry is part two in a three-part series from ZooStore and retail manager, Terry Blumer, following his travels to Mongolia to help lead a conservation commerce workshop for local artisans, creating an eco-friendly income alternative to poaching in snow leopard habitat. The workshop was made possible by Woodland Park Zoo’s Partner for Wildlife , Snow Leopard Trust . Conservation Commerce products are available in the zoo's two ZooStores. Getting there...let the adventure begin! How does one begin to pack for an adventure in Mongolia? For starters, I need to make sure I know luggage restrictions. Sleeping bag? Check. Raingear and hiking boots? Check. Nifty, new solar charger for gadgets? Check. ATV tires? Che...wait, what?! Yes, I read that email correctly. "Would you mind checking an extra bag and box of donated ATV tires for our Mongolian office?" asked Gina Robertson, Snow Leopard T

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Photos by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Two pups follow mom outside for the very first time. Everyone is busy getting the Asian small-clawed otter pups ready for their outdoor debut. Mom and dad have been teaching the pups how to swim in a shallow, indoor pool in their behind-the-scenes den. Zookeepers have been baby-proofing the outdoor exhibit—adding ramps made from branches to the water and slowing the stream and waterfall down to a trickle so the pups don’t wipe out. The pups followed mom onto exhibit briefly. All is set. Now we just need to get the pups to come outside for a little practice time. That’s proving to be the hardest part. Taking a peek at the waterfall on exhibit.  Last Tuesday morning, mom Teratai guided her pups out onto exhibit to give them a chance to explore the outdoors for the first time. Notice the little patch on the pup's side? Each pup has a unique shaved patch to help keepers tell t

Posted by: Jessie Maxwell, Education There are more than 5 million people worldwide who go geocaching as a hobby, and this summer Woodland Park Zoo’s Zoo University “Animal Quest” camp added a few more! Photo by Mackenzie Quinn “I’ve never actually done geocaching, but once I’ve gotten to go geocaching I ended up absolutely loving it and want to do it more.” - Alexis L., age 13. It all started with an effort to get Animal Quest campers (ages 12-14) to step into the shoes of a wildlife field researcher: a scientist who does a lot of animal and habitat experiments in the field. The campers explored different tools each day that different wildlife field researchers use—everything from water testing tablets to binoculars to different types of nets to GPS units. As hydrologists the kids tested Green Lake’s chemical and biological health. As ornithologists (bird scientists) they helped the staff monitor and count the barn swallows living here at the zoo. One day the cam

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Mom Olivia and aunt Tufani give the little calf some tender attention. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. At just 1 week old, Woodland Park Zoo’s male baby giraffe has become an overnight sensation, and now, it just gets better. Giraffe fans can get their daily fix of the tallest baby in Seattle through a live 24/7 animal cam , courtesy of Dropcam. The live cam is installed behind the scenes in the giraffe barn and allows the public to watch the calf nursing, bonding with mom and doing what babies do…sleep. The best viewing times for the live cam are between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. PST. The baby giraffe was born August 6 to 6-year-old Olivia, a first-time mom. Born at 6 feet tall, he now stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and continues to thrive under the care of his mom. Olivia has been an excellent mom and the baby’s progressing on the mark. He’s playful and is beginning to sample hay, grain and leaves, which you can sometimes vie

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