Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Porcupine baby, Marty, and her stick. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. When you’re a porcupine baby, if you've got a stick, you've got a party. VIDEO: Baby porcupine chews on sticks. Produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Look for our 8-week-old female porcupette, Marty, on exhibit in the Northern Trail. You'll see her there with mom, Molly. The two are doing well!

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications with Laura McComesky, Zookeeper Lion-tailed macaque, Sita, gets up close to her keeper’s camera. Photo by Andy Antilla/Woodland Park Zoo. Monkey see, monkey do—and it's all thanks to cataract surgery that has successfully restored vision and quality of life to 29-year-old lion-tailed macaque , Sita (SEE-tah). Going blind wasn't easy for Sita. In February, keepers first noticed in one of Sita’s eyes the tell-tale cloudiness characteristic of a cataract. Soon it was both eyes. The cataracts came on fast and worsened quickly, giving Sita very little time to adjust to this drastic change. Sita’s left pupil was the first to appear cloudy in February 2014. Photo by Andy Antilla/Woodland Park Zoo. As her eyesight disappeared, Sita struggled to do everyday tasks. Woodland Park Zoo’s lion-tailed macaque exhibit reflects the endangered species’ Indian forest habitat, with complex, arboreal pathways that suddenly became too chal

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Calling all junior conservation researchers! Junior Rangers check camera traps with Paso Pacifico in the Nicaraguan rain forest. Part of their data will help researchers to better understand carnivores such as jaguars and ocelots. Photo courtesy of Paso Pacifico. What is it like to be a conservation researcher in the field? A big part of studying the behavior of animals is being very patient and waiting a long time (sometimes hours, sometimes days!) for animals to make a move. Researchers chart the behaviors they observe to gather enough data for their scientific investigations. Field researchers use ethograms to document animal behavior. An ethogram is a chart which displays a list of possible behaviors as well as a timeline. Using an ethogram, researchers can quickly document the minute-by-minute actions and behaviors of an observation subject. Researchers also rely on sketching and drawing, or photography to supplement their note

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications What will you spot on the Savanna Cam today? Streaming live from Woodland Park Zoo’s award-winning African Savanna exhibit, our newest cam looks north over the exhibit plains from the African school house. Here you'll find the zoo’s giraffe, oryx, zebra, gazelle and ostrich, a mixed community of species that are naturally found together in the dry grasslands of Africa. The camera runs 24/7 and the best viewing is from dawn 'til dusk. In this video clip, you'll get a little preview of what you'll see on the cam. Tune into the Savanna Cam live stream for a real-time look at the savanna. VIDEO: Giraffe checks out the new Savanna Cam. When watching, look for highlights on the savanna including: Giraffe calf Misawa Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Though he towers over the grazers around him, nearly one-year-old giraffe calf Misawa is notably smaller than his mother Olivia and aunt Tufani. Look for the g

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications With Memorial Day weekend upon us, many will kick off the summer season with a camping trip. Before you head out on your adventure, challenge yourself with this bear-smart quiz to see if you are a bear-smart camper. Whatever your score, you'll see and learn so much more about coexisting with Northwest wildlife when you join us for Bear Affair: Living Northwest Conservation presented by Brown Bear Car Wash on Sat., June 7. Grizzly bears Keema and Denali will show us what happens when you do not take safety precautions in your backyard or when hiking or camping in bear country. Zookeepers and conservation experts will be on hand to give you safety tips. Plus we'll spotlight the incredible native wildlife all around us, from bears to butterflies, and share ways you can join our Living Northwest program to conserve Washington's wildlife. So tell us: how did you score?

Posted by: Puget Sound Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers Photo by Jodi Shaw. It’s almost time for the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) annual rhino conservation fundraiser, Bowling for Rhinos. But this year, the Puget Sound chapter of AAZK is going to try something a little different. We’ll be curling for rhinos! WHEN: Sat., June 7, 4:30 – 9:30 p.m. We will have two shifts for curling; 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (choose one or the other) WHERE: Granite Curling Club of Seattle , 1440 N 128th Street, Seattle, WA. COST: $20 just to eat/hang out (party only) and watch the fun or $30 to curl and eat (plus a small online registration fee) This is your opportunity to demonstrate your support for endangered rhinos and the worldwide effort to conserve endangered species. Please remember that when these animals are gone, it's forever; there is no bringing them back. You can help the Puget Sound AAZK achieve its goal of raising $13,

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications On this Endangered Species Day, we celebrate nature's latest gift to us—a critically endangered Indochinese box turtle baby, newly hatched before our eyes and thriving. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Our zookeepers put long hours into incubating eggs, maintaining a warm, safe environment for those about to hatch. When they are lucky, they get to see the big payoff happen before their eyes! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This month, we were there to greet an Indochinese box turtle as it hatched into the world. Using its egg tooth (the pointy tip you can see best in the photo below), it broke through the shell when it was ready to hatch after 78 days of incubation. At only about an inch and a half in length, the little fella is too small for any of the exhibit spaces we have in the Day Exhibit, so for now, it’s being reared behind the scenes. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Zookeepers are especiall