Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Judy Mukai, Docent Photos by: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo Rarely seen in the wild, great gray owls are the newest residents in Northern Trail. Often called “great gray ghosts,” “phantoms of the North” or “spectral owls,” great gray owls live up to their name. They are the largest North American owl, standing up to 2.75 feet tall. Their huge, round heads and distinctive facial disks create a most impressive appearance. However, they are not the heaviest owls; they look big but only weigh between 1.5 to 3.7 pounds. Great gray owls have extremely fluffy plumage on their head and body and densely feathered toes. The size and plumage befit a bird of the far North. The birds range throughout northern North America and Eurasia especially in dense boreal forests. Their mottled and streaked gray/brown coloration provides excellent camouflage in the trees. Our great gray owls, Hedwig and Neville, moved from the Temperate Forest in late July and have settled into the

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications A certain red-capped, white-bearded, perpetually jolly fella made a special stop to ask the animals what is on their wish lists this year. Though the answers were only audible to those with a little magic in their ears, Santa seemed to understand. We're not sure what Pie told Santa, but we're guessing it has something to do with mealworms. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo. Stop by this weekend and next to see if the jolly old elf got it right, at the zoo’s annual Winter Celebration ! Animals will receive holiday-themed treats such as wreaths and evergreen trees adorned with assorted fruit, fancy fish hidden in the boughs of a pine tree or gift wrapped boxes filled with favorite treats! A jaguar investigates a particularly suspicious Frosty. Photo by Dennis Dow, Woodland Park Zoo.  Keepers will offer enriching treats as part of the celebration, which highlights animal behavior such as foraging and se

Posted by: Bridget Dunn, Communications “Is that a metal detector?” “Does that thing track sound waves? “Are you with Google Earth?” Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. These are all questions that have been aimed at Michael Bradshaw in the last few months.  So what is he doing wandering Woodland Park Zoo grounds with a GPS and 7’ pole? You’ll probably never guess: He’s mapping trees! Bradshaw, a forest science grad student at the University of Washington, is part of a project the zoo is very excited to finally tackle: creating a full inventory of the trees around our campus. This project will assess the health of our large urban forest through the evaluation of every tree on our grounds. Bradshaw is mapping trees and taking notes on their health, which is the first of three stages of this project. He does this work with special GPS mapping equipment which is accurate within 4-12”. This information is overlaid with other information about the zoo to c

Posted by: Bridget Dunn, Public Affairs As a little holiday gift from us to you, here’s our official Woodland Park Zoo Shopping Guide to Certified Sustainable Palm Oil products to help you have a sustainable holiday season and a renewable new year! The guide provides an easy way to identify products that contain palm oil which has been grown and manufactured in a way that is safer for rain forests and their inhabitants. Choosing products that are better for the environment helps keep the holiday season bright for animals around the world. Protecting tiger forests is a gift that keeps on giving. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. It is vitally important to support certified sustainable palm oil agriculture that is deforestation free. In Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo, conventional palm oil agriculture is decimating tropical rain forests and their inhabitants, including orangutans, tigers, hornbills and Asian elephants. Old growth forest and peatlands (also known

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo We have a little update on our gorilla Nadiri and her newborn baby. Attempts to introduce the first-time mother gorilla to her new baby continue every day. For now, the plan for the next three months will be to keep on providing hands-on care for the female gorilla infant before evaluating next steps. The baby western lowland gorilla was born November 20 to 19-year-old Nadiri. After giving birth naturally, Nadiri did not pick up her baby and, instead, walked away. Staff immediately stepped in for the safety and welfare of the baby and to allow the new mom to rest. Because Nadiri does not have experience with motherhood, the zoo prepared for different eventualities while Nadiri was pregnant, including human intervention. Zoo gorilla and veterinary staff are providing 24/7 care for the baby gorilla behind the scenes in the gorillas’ sleeping quarters in a den next to Nadi

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Each Thanksgiving season we try our best to put into words just how grateful we are for your friendship and support. With your passion for saving wildlife and wild spaces, with your generous support in providing the most nutritious diets and state-of-the-art animal health care, and most of all your love for each and every creature here at the zoo—we are incredibly lucky to call you our zoo family. If we could invite you all to a Thanksgiving feast we would, but unfortunately the animals might get grumpy if we start sharing their grub. Instead, here is a little Thanksgiving-inspired fun to share with your loved ones. This holiday, know we are thinking of you and sending you love from the zoo. Stay cozy and enjoy your pie! Here are 10 ways to give thanks (like an animal): Whether it is a tasty fish or a pumpkin pie, give thanks for a full belly. Be thankful for family, young and old (and everyone in between).

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The porcupine made a clear choice for her pick to win! Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. With the Apple Cup upon us, we asked apple-loving porcupine Skyáana to try her hand at predicting the winner of the big game. Faced with a choice of apples overflowing from a Husky and a Cougar snack helmet, the 1.5-year-old prickly predictor picked the WSU Cougars for the win! Video: Porcupine makes 2015 Apple Cup prediction. Here’s the play-by-play: The keeper calls the audible. Skyáana makes a rush down the field. She drops out of the pocket and runs a naked bootleg! She’s down to the 40, the 30, the 20, across the 10 yard line, into the Cougars end zone! Touchdown, Cougars!!!! Are you kidding me??!! Holy apples , I don’t believe it!! Photo: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo. As she went for a second apple from the Cougars helmet, Skyáana made it perfectly clear that she is confident in her choice. But here's the deal: thi