Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Alissa Wolken, Communications Welcome Sam, Woodland Park Zoo’s new male siamang! The 28-year-old male joins female Briony in the Trail of Vines exhibit. And how fitting that this new arrival comes during the Year of the Gibbon , a global effort to raise conservation awareness for these lesser known apes facing the threat of extinction. Sam first arrived at the zoo in June and was introduced to Briony in the indoor exhibit, and now they are ready to explore their outdoor exhibit together. Welcome Sam! Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo “Once we could see that Sam and Briony were getting along and he was familiar with the inside exhibit, we introduced Sam, with Briony, to the outside island exhibit,” says Collection Manager Pat Owen. “He is gradually spending more time out on exhibit; we anticipate it taking time for him to adjust to his new surroundings, because this is the first open air exhibit Sam has experienced.” Briony showing Sam the ropes (er...vines!

Posted by: Laura McComesky, Zookeeper Today is World Orangutan Day and in honor of our fab five, we know you'll love seeing how we celebrated orangutan awareness—and how you can take a role in helping save endangered Sumatran and Bornean orangutans—during our Asian Wildlife Conservation Day earlier this month. Tropical fruit generously provided to the orangutans by Uwajimaya. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. KIND Snacks was our official sponsor for the day and we thank and applaud them for their commitment to sourcing and using only certified sustainable palm oil. Family-owned Asian grocery Uwajimaya generously contributed a cornucopia of exotic tropical fruits for our orangutans. Melati delights in the durian and other tropical fruits. Photos by Carolyn Sellar/Woodland Park Zoo. Not everyone finds the treats as tempting as the orangutans. Photo by Laura McComesky/Woodland Park Zoo. During our keeper talk, our orangutans enjoyed durian, jackfruit,

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications McKenna Princing/UW Medicine Gorilla Vip is recovering from sinus surgery performed over the weekend. More than 25 medical specialists joined the zoo’s veterinary team and donated their time and expertise to help the 36-year-old, 430-pound gorilla. Vip remains off view in an enclosure at the gorilla exhibit. McKenna Princing/UW Medicine A similar surgery was performed a year ago on the western lowland gorilla for treatment of a chronic sinus infection. As a result of that successful surgery to remove polyps (growths within the nasal sinuses), Vip was able to breathe normally through his nose for the first time in weeks. In recent days, however, symptoms re-emerged, explained Dr. Darin Collins, Woodland Park Zoo’s director of Animal Health. “It was evident that Vip was experiencing some level of discomfort, likely from a repeat sinus infection. During this second round of surgery, polyps and infection were surgically removed,” sai

Posted by: Alissa Wolken, Communications Photos by: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo The tools of the trade for hand raising a wallaroo joey: 1. A heavy duty pillowcase-like pouch for sleepy time 2. A handmade bottle adapter equipped with customized parts all the way from Australia for feedings 3. A kangaroo plush so the baby can redirect his playful bites and kicks at something other than one of us! 4. A lot of patience, a lot of compassion, and a sharp focus on letting a wallaroo be a wallaroo When it became apparent at six-and-a-half months of age that wallaroo joey, Yuri, wasn’t receiving from his mother the nutrition he needed to grow, we were ready to step in. But just as importantly when hand raising an animal, we’ve been getting ready to step back out. For Yuri, first it took a village, but now it takes a (wallaroo) mob. The first days of hand raising Upon the first signs that intervention was needed, Yuri was taken to the zoo’s Animal Health Complex wh

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. The future weighs 2 ounces. We’re at the edge of the pond, and there are leaves scattered in the water that are bigger than the turtle in my hands. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. But now that it’s large enough to avoid the mouths of predators such as invasive bullfrogs, this turtle has a big role to play. After hatching and getting a head start at life behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo, turtle #5 and 24 others are off to their next great adventure: rebuilding the wild population of native western pond turtles in Washington state. Photo by John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. Western pond turtles were once common from Baja California to Puget Sound, including the Columbia River Gorge. However, loss of habitat, commercial exploitation for food, disease and introduced predators, such as bullfrogs and large-mouth bass, decimated their numbers. Photo by Jer

Posted by: Achmad Ariefiandy, Population Monitoring of Komodo Dragons in Komodo National Park , a Woodland Park Zoo Wildlife Survival Fund project Editor’s Note: Woodland Park Zoo has been supporting Komodo dragon conservation in the wild for more than 15 years through the Wildlife Survival Fund . You can see Komodo dragons at the zoo in the Adaptations Building and join us in celebrating Asian Wildlife Conservation Day , Saturday, August 8, 2015. The field project conducts an annual study to measure growth as an indicator of population demographics, foundational data for effective conservation strategies for this vulnerable species. They share this update from the field: Researcher doing some measurements on the baby dragon. Photo by Achmad Ariefiandy. Researchers from the Komodo Survival Program conducted an annual demographic study on two main sites, Loh Liang on Komodo Island and Loh Buaya on Rinca Island. The team set up eight 3-meter-long aluminum traps baited with goa

Posted by: Eli Weiss, Education Originally published July 24, 2015 on Raikes Foundation blog Summer is here and at Woodland Park Zoo our youth programs are in full swing. On our 92 acre grounds and beyond, middle and high school students find a place to learn and grow outside of the classroom, through participation in the ZooCrew and ZooCorps programs. We provide youth an opportunity to make real life connections to science, develop communication and job skills and explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and conservation careers. Each year 300+ middle- and high-school-aged youth are engaged in free out-of-school time and summer programs, which are rooted in youth development best practices. In 2014, with support from the City of Seattle Families and Education Levy, we piloted the ZooCrew Summer Learning Experience, a new, five-week hands-on STEM program for middle school students that takes on summer learning loss with a fresh new approach. What makes our progr