Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Karen Stevenson, Woodland Park Zoo Volunteer; additional contributions by Gretchen Albrecht, Zookeeper and Anna Martin, WPZ Volunteer Photo by Gretchen Albrecht/WPZ. Just a few weeks back, the memo came through. It read only, “They’re back!” “They” are barn swallows, Hirundo rustica , and we’re celebrating their return. Here in the Pacific Northwest, barn swallows are harbingers of spring’s longer, warmer days. Warmer days awaken long-dormant insects, and barn swallows—like most little insectivores—follow their food (mostly flies and mosquitos, but also beetles, bees, wasps and so on). They summer here, then when “summer” moves south, they do too, following available food all the way to northeastern South America and the Caribbean basin. Barn swallows are comfortable in our big cities, small towns, neighborhoods and farms. While other swallow species prefer to nest in natural structures hidden from view, such as cliffs or tree cavities, barn swallows build mud nes

Posted by: Gigi Allianic with Rebecca Whitham, Communications She’s got quills, they’re multiplying. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The littlest new addition to Woodland Park Zoo is a female North American porcupine, born April 4 in our Northern Trail exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Porcupine babies, known as porcupettes (seriously), are born with a soft coat of quills that begins to harden within hours of birth. This immediately protects them from predators...and thick gloves immediately protect us from them! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo Our porcupette was born to Molly and Oliver, both 3-year-old residents of Northern Trail. This is their second offspring. The baby has access all day and night to the porcupine exhibit, but for now prefers to spend most of her time exploring in a den behind the scenes. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo She grooms herself a lot and is experimenting with different solid foods, like this spec

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications We have a new king on the savanna! Welcome our new male South African lion, Xerxes, to Woodland Park Zoo’s lion exhibit. The handsome new king on the savanna. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Xerxes is 6.5 years old and was born on November 6, 2007 at Oklahoma City Zoo. He lived at El Paso Zoo from January 2010 until he came to Seattle in March 2014. He has been behind the scenes in standard quarantine for newly arrived animals, where he received health checkups and an assessment from our animal health staff before being introduced to the exhibit. This week he began his first ventures into the main outdoor lion yard. We watched from the lion viewing shelter as he gingerly entered the outdoor space and began to explore. Keepers say he is a very calm lion, and they expect him to settle into his new environment without any trouble. Xerxes is very striking, with his dark-tipped mane and regal expression! Xerxes is also exceptionall

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications When you love wildlife, every day is Earth Day. An Asian small-clawed otter pup. Photo by Stan Milkowski/Woodland Park Zoo. Get into the green spirit on your next visit to the zoo: use our free mobile app to take the GPS-guided Green Zoo Tour. Discover the sometimes hidden ways we save water and energy and creatively reduce waste. Then get tips for how to do the same at home. On the tour, you'll visit LEED-certified buildings, see solar panels at work, discover the difference trees make, and find out what we do with all that animal poop. Together we can reduce our impact on the planet we share with wildlife and with future generations.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Another season of BECU ZooTunes presented by Carter Subaru summer concerts is heating up with this year’s blazing lineup: June 18 — Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood June 22 — Mavis Staples / Marc Cohn July 2 — Gregg Allman July 6 — Carolina Chocolate Drops / The Del McCoury Band July 30 — Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band with special guests Lake Street Dive July 31 — Lucinda Williams August 6 — Taj Mahal Trio / John Hiatt & The Combo August 10 — Robert Cray Band / Shemekia Copeland August 17 — Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue / Galactic August 20 & 21 — Pink Martini featuring China Forbes and Storm Large August 24 — Ziggy Marley Join us on the North Meadow for great music all summer long. When you see concerts, you save animals by supporting Woodland Park Zoo’s mission! Tickets go on sale to the general public on Fri., April 25 at 8:00 a.m. Current zoo members enjoy a special presale on Wed., Apr. 2

Posted by: Laura Lockard, Public Affairs A suited Mayor Murray greets a tuxedoed penguin. Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. We had a very special guest at the zoo this morning, our very own Mayor of Seattle, Ed Murray ! Senior Zoo Walkers enjoy a Q&A with Mayor Murray at the zoo. Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. As they wrapped up this morning’s stroll around zoo grounds, the Senior Zoo Walkers —who participate in a joint Seattle parks and zoo senior health program—were joined by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray for conversation and a cup of coffee. After a welcome by zoo President and CEO, Deborah Jensen, Mayor Murray addressed several of the walkers’ questions and concerns about our city, including traffic and bicycle safety, and funding for the city’s parks and the zoo. Coffee and conversation at the zoo. Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. The Mayor acknowledged that many necessary infrastructure projects at the zoo, local parks and community centers have gone unfunded and incomplete. He express

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications What did you do for your 20th birthday? Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Today, grizzly brothers Keema and Denali celebrated two decades by diving face-first into piles of snow courtesy of Crystal Mountain Resort. Hidden inside the snow were special birthday treats, from meaty knuckle bones and fish, to peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. Video: Grizzly bear snow battle. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Though the bears technically turned 20 back in January , they slept right through their big day as bears tend to do during their winter slumber. So we held off on their birthday surprise until today. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This morning, our friends from Crystal Mountain trucked in piles of snow fresh from the Cascades and loaded it into the exhibit. Keepers and volunteers lovingly tucked Keema and Denali’s favorite treats into the snow. Between the smell of the food and the feel of the soft