Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Last year, Day Exhibit keeper Alyssa Borek took this footage  of a black breasted leaf turtle tasting a hibiscus flower. It was pretty adorable. More recently, keeper Peter Miller captured this video of a very acrobatic black-breasted leaf turtle dining on an elusive meal worm. Go get ‘em! In the wild, black-breasted leaf turtles eat various invertebrates, such as insects, worms, and grubs. They also eat decaying fruit found on the forest floor and venture into streams to collect insect larvae. At the zoo, the turtles dine primarily on insects with occasional fruits, vegetables and sometimes flowers. The black-breasted leaf turtle is one of the smallest in the world, at about five inches long. They have a unique and beautiful shell with rough edges which resemble a leaf. Black-breasted leaf turtle are in danger, and you can help! They are listed as endangered due to habitat destruction and over collection. They are also used in trad

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications When otters play tug-of-war, we all win. Photo by Stan Milkowski/Woodland Park Zoo. In just one year’s time, our four little Asian small-clawed otter boys, Chancellor, Maxwell, Sherman and Thomas, went from being babies to being big brothers ! The pups, named for the Seattle Seahawks Legion of Boom, were born June 11 last year, just in time for Father’s Day. Today we celebrate their first birthday with a look back at what they’ve learned and experienced in their first year. They learned that fish is delicious… Soooooo good! This photo was taken in August 2013 when the pups were two months old. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. …that the Seahawks rule… These champion otters were named for the champion Seahawks' Legion of Boom. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. …that Dad can’t help but be overprotective sometimes… When the pups were first learning to swim outdoors, dad had a habit of not letting the

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications The fishmongers toss salmon in front of the grizzly exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The scene: Pike Place Fish Market fishmongers gather in front of Woodland Park Zoo’s famous brown bear exhibit, as grizzly brothers Keema and Denali go into overdrive sniffing out the scent of salmon in the air. The bears catch the scent. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. This moment feels so perfectly Seattle. Bear. Woodland Park Zoo. Salmon. Pike Place Fish Market. So Seattle. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Then the toss begins. Tossing a "stunt" salmon. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. If you've seen the famous fish tossing at Pike Place Fish Market, you’ll know the rush of excitement that runs through the crowd as the fishmongers toss what they call a “stunt fish” back and forth. You hold your breath each time to see if they’ll catch it. Unless you’re a grizzly bear. In that ca

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Moving a giraffe is one tall order, but zookeepers at Woodland Park Zoo know just how to handle it. On May 30, we welcomed nearly 2-year-old Dave the giraffe to our herd, all the way from Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. Dave steps out of the trailer and into his new home at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo. Dave made the 2,000-mile trek from the Chicago area in an extra tall trailer, offering greater neck and leg room for the long haul. The heightened trailer is equipped with slip-proof flooring and lots of bedding for resting. At his young age, Dave is not quite full grown, reaching just under 11 feet tall. His smaller stature made for a more comfortable move. To ensure a smooth transition from Brookfield Zoo, we worked together to find experienced drivers who specialize in large animal transportation for zoos nationwide. The extra tall trailer provided stretching room for the young giraffe. Photo by Kirs

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The chick was photographed here at 8 days old. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. For the first time at Woodland Park Zoo, an Edwards’s pheasant has hatched—a bird that is believed to be extinct in the wild! The Edwards’s pheasant is not exactly common in zoos either. Only 15 individuals live in seven zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. We have been providing a home for a pair since 2012. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. You can see the 6-year-old mother and 1-year-old father in our Conservation Aviary located in the Temperate Forest zone. The little chick, now just under 2 weeks old, is being hand-reared by zookeepers behind the scenes to help ensure it gains weight as expected of a growing chick and hits all of its important developmental milestones. With such a significant hatching of such a rare species, we’re taking extra precautions to ensure its health and survival. A close up of the ch

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