Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Chai and Bamboo at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Mandi Fillmore/Woodland Park Zoo. Asian elephants Chai and Bamboo departed San Diego Zoo yesterday evening to continue their journey to Oklahoma City Zoo. “We are so grateful to San Diego Zoo for providing a comfortable rest stop for Chai and Bamboo while we worked with our colleagues and the animal transport team to line up logistics for the final leg of the journey,” said Dr. Deborah Jensen, Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO. “Meticulous planning has gone into this transport. With a window of favorable weather, expert transport staff available, and a new route coordinated, Chai and Bamboo are ready to move to their new home and family,” added Jensen. Accompanied by five Woodland Park Zoo elephant care staff, three veterinarians and six expert animal transport staff, the elephants are traveling in separate, ventilated crates equipped with heating and evaporative cooler units, as well as closed circuit cameras that allow staf

Posted by: Kerston Swartz, Public Affairs and Advocacy Are your ears ringing, boys? It’s just because we can’t stop talking about tigers! Photo: Dennis Dow/WPZ. We’re kind of tiger nerds at Woodland Park Zoo. You already know this: the zoo has its paws in a lot of tiger-related stuff this summer. So far, we opened our new Banyan Wilds exhibit featuring three new Malayan tiger brothers and organized prominent local artists to decorate ten magnificent fiberglass tigers to place throughout the community as part of the Show Your Stripes art tour… and it’s only May. Show Your Stripes Tour tiger ambassadors. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer Lindgren/WPZ. Add to the list a partnership worth roaring about. Tiger Story Time at The Seattle Public Library. Photo by Jerry and Lois Photography. With all this tiger mania going on, imagine our excitement when The Seattle Public Library invited us to partner on its Summer of Learning Program. We’re calling this summer’s program “Wild S

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor At Woodland Park Zoo, Mother's Day is a chance to celebrate moms of all species! Join us for the 25th annual Mom & Me at the Zoo , Sat., May 9, 2015, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Moms receive half-price admission to the zoo on the day of the event (discount not available online). You'll find activities for the whole family out on the North Meadow including live entertainment, arts and crafts, and play areas. Then catch keeper talks to learn more about how moms of the animal kingdom provide care for their little ones. A video posted by Woodland Park Zoo (@woodlandparkzoo) on Apr 25, 2015 at 8:11am PDT Lion mom video:  https://instagram.com/p/15wfJbpQeB These days there's one Woodland Park Zoo mom working triple time to care for her cubs—lion mama Adia. With her mate, Xerxes, by her side, Adia keeps watch over her three 7-month-old sons. They rough around and wrestle, and are learning through play how their claws and

UPDATE:  Ms. Goodall has respectfully asked for time to review the issues more closely while she reconsiders her viewpoint. We continue to provide her with information and access to sources as needed. Bamboo and Chai at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Mandi Fillmore/Woodland Park Zoo. ORIGINAL POST: Some of you may have seen last week a letter circulating from esteemed conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall about our plans to relocate elephants Chai and Bamboo to join a family at Oklahoma City Zoo. We had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Goodall and provide her access to more information about the careful planning that went into identifying their new home. After reviewing all the information available to her and consulting her network of professional colleagues, Ms. Goodall sent the following letter she would like for us to share with you all now. Click to enlarge: Text in full: Dear Mayor Murray, Council President Burgess, & Dr. Jensen:  On April 22, 2015, I made som

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Chai and Bamboo continue to do well at San Diego Zoo, a temporary stop on their way to meet their new family at Oklahoma City Zoo . The girls are together in San Diego Zoo’s elephant quarantine area, which includes indoor rooms and an outdoor yard. Quarantine is standard for any animal newly arriving to an accredited zoo. Woodland Park Zoo keepers are with Chai and Bamboo providing them daily care. Video: Woodland Park Zoo elephants doing well at San Diego Zoo.   Produced by San Diego Zoo. In addition to the bulking quantities of hay, grain and produce the elephants consume each day, San Diego Zoo staff has been collecting browse plants for Chai and Bamboo, just as they were used to at Woodland Park Zoo. Yesterday’s flavor of the day—elm—was a big hit. Bamboo especially has been enjoying the hunt for hidden peanut butter balls, and the two have been chowing down on frozen nectar and fruit-sicles as well. Chai has discovered the water spr

Posted by: Stacey Hammond, Education This past winter, ZooCrew students learned about the conservation issues that face the Northwest and designed projects to address those issues. All of these projects highlighted how climate change is affecting animals. From bats to birds to wolverines and wolves, check out some of the projects from the Mercer, Denny, and Washington Middle School ZooCrew students below. Bat Houses Students from all three schools made bat houses, which will be hung up on zoo grounds. Bats are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, bat populations have decreased. By building bat houses, the students are helping create safe homes for bats. Denny Middle School students. Mercer Middle School students. Mercer Middle School students. Mercer Middle School students. Washington Middle School students. Backyard Bird Counts Another project highlighted bird conservation. Students observed birds in t

Posted by: Kerston Swartz, Public Affairs and Advocacy Manager Today Woodland Park Zoo and our campaign partners announced Initiative 1401 , a citizens’ initiative to strengthen laws banning sales of endangered species products in Washington state. In November, the people of Washington will be able to vote YES on I-1401 , and significantly decrease our state’s contribution to the current unprecedented rate of tiger, elephant, rhino and lion poaching. Pangolin: Boniface Osujaki/ Tarangire Elephant Project , a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife. African elephant: Peter Steward via Flickr. Malayan tiger: Razak Abu Bakar via Flickr. Rhino: Jim Frost via Flickr. These wild animals don’t roam our state, but parts of them certainly make their way into the U.S. and to our region. Washingtonians will not spot a lion stalking its prey on the San Juan Islands or see a rhino charging the wheat fields of the Palouse, but we might have the opportunity to buy an ivory trinket in Tac