Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Marie Manguette, Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study , a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife At Mbeli, we follow twenty-one groups of gorillas that come to feed in the clearing. The number of individuals in a group ranges from just two to around 13. In gorillas, it is generally only the mother that takes care of her infant, with no assistance from the other members of the group. Mom Dinka carrying her male infant Duma on her back.  Photo by Marie Manguette On rare occasions however, we have observed juveniles carrying their siblings on their back or helping them when they are climbing trees. These altruistic behaviors have been observed in only two of the groups followed at Mbeli, and in both female and male juveniles. While rare in the wild, this phenomenon seems quite common in habituated or captive groups of gorillas.  Zulu’s group is one of these groups where juveniles have been observed caring for and supervising their siblings without interruption from the

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by Kirsten Pisto/WPZ. The delicate petal of a sweet rose, the crisp stem on a freshly cut camellia and a mouth full of luscious nasturtiums leaves! The zoo’s browse gardens are bursting with color and we are celebrating this summer yield with a special delivery of mouthwatering garden plants to our resident herbivores. This is the fifth summer of cross-department collaboration between horticulture, animal management, ZooCorps and the commissary. The program has been a great success in ensuring the animals receive fresh summer treats as well as providing an excellent learning opportunity for our ZooCorps teens. Cat nip is attractive to our big cats, just as it is to a house cat. The plant contains the feline attractant nepetalactone. This honey bee seems to enjoy it as well!  Fennel, mint and sugar-snap peas grow together in the browse garden behind the Tropical Rain Forest unit. Browse gardens are scattered througho

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor When lead keeper Stephanie Miller tried to snap a photo of our male blue-billed curassow, he showed a lot of interest in her phone. Playing along, Stephanie reversed the camera so he could see himself on the screen. And that’s when he pecked at it, amazingly hitting the shutter button just right to take this perfect selfie! The duckface is over. It’s all about the curassowface now. And this critically endangered species from Colombia needs all the attention it can get! Look for this beauty in the zoo’s Conservation Aviary.

Plus our heartfelt thanks to Deborah Jensen for 13 years of service! Posted by: Bruce Bohmke, Acting President and CEO Bruce Bohmke. Dear Friends, As zoo members, supporters and partners, you are an integral force in the success of our mission. You also have a vested interest in the future of your zoo. So, on behalf of all the zoo staff and board of directors, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Woodland Park Zoo’s new Strategic Plan 2015-2018: Growing our Reach and Impact. You’ll be proud to know that Woodland Park Zoo is already recognized as a standard-setter among top zoos and aquariums in the U.S. With this plan as our compass, we will evolve to meet our community’s current and future needs, while further shaping and modeling the purpose of zoo-based conservation organizations in the 21st century. Because a significant rise in population is anticipated for the Puget Sound region, we must dramatically increase our reach and impact to serve a growing community. But

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Christine Anne is the Lead Keeper at Woodland Park Zoo’s East Team carnivore unit. Christine has been at Woodland Park Zoo for just two years, but she has been a keeper for over 13 years. Prior to working in Seattle she worked at San Diego Zoo Safari Park as the head lion keeper, as a bear manager at a brown bear rescue center in Sitka, Alaska, and as Assistant Supervisor of Carnivores at Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon. Her expertise in working with big cats is instrumental to the zoo, especially with three young, energetic new residents—the tiger brothers of Banyan Wilds . So, what is it really like to work with Liem, Eko and Olan? Christine treats a tiger to a spray of milk, a reward for working with keepers to practice health checks. By asking the tigers to stand up, keepers can  easily check their paws, belly and mouth. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. We asked Christine to give us the inside scoop on the tigers

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Stellar. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Enticed by a bowl of blueberries, red panda Stellar knows what to do. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. She makes her way to her keeper in a behind-the-scenes room, gets up on her hind legs and props herself onto a T-stand—constructed by the keeper for this very purpose—and waits for her reward. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. While Stellar takes berries from her keeper or sometimes buries her face full in a bowl of biscuits soaked in apple juice, a member of our animal health team conducts a non-invasive ultrasound exam on her. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. We’re hoping for signs that will verify a pregnancy. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Several months ago, we introduced our new male red panda, Yukiko, to 8-year-old Stellar. The pair has successfully mated and now the ultrasound examinations are regularly underway—eve

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Malayan tiger at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Malayan tigers have officially been reclassified from “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature , the leading authority on the risk of extinction. The change reflects the reality of dwindling population numbers coming in from research data. What it doesn’t reflect is the hope that we can turn this around. We know what we need to do to save tigers—protect their habitat, protect their prey base, and protect them from poachers. And thanks to your support, we have boots on the ground in Malaysia implementing these key strategies. Now the work must continue at home. Washington residents can help protect species facing extinction by voting #YESon1401 this November . The initiative seeks to curb the wildlife trafficking trade and sets a new model for citizen-driven conservation. It’s never been more critical.