Woodland Park Zoo Blog

After an international search, Woodland Park Zoo has found its new President and CEO: Alejandro Grajal, PhD. The eighth president in our 117-year history in this community, Alejandro is set to embrace the mantle of leading our continuous evolution as one of the world’s foremost conservation and education zoos. Alejandro Grajal will begin his role as Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO on May 16, 2016. The CEO Selection Committee, comprising Woodland Park Zoo Board members and community representatives, was highly impressed by his leadership, deep passion for education and conservation, and significant contributions as a research scientist that span conservation biology and animal welfare to the social sciences. Grajal will assume service on Monday, May 16. Grajal joined the leadership team at the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the Brookfield Zoo, 10 years ago. He now serves as senior vice president for conservation, education and training. Before Chicago, Grajal was

Posted by: Valerie Paquin, Marketing If we asked you to describe Woodland Park Zoo in one color, your response would surely be green. The zoo’s abundant foliage is a result of both our dedicated horticulture team and the natural, verdant wonder of the Northwest.  Aerial view of Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. There are also many green animal species at the zoo, and their coloring serves a greater purpose than not getting pinched on St. Patrick’s Day. Used for camouflage, warning signals or displays, these brilliant hues make us green with envy. Photo: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The bright, contrasting colors of poison dart frogs are a beautiful warning of their toxicity to predators. Although able to avoid most predation with their stunning coloration, some poison dart frogs are threatened or endangered due to habitat loss and other threats.  Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Found in the rain forests of South America, emeral

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Our 4-month-old female gorilla has a name of her own. Through a public naming contest, nearly 3,500 names were submitted and the baby gorilla caretakers have selected the winning name: Yola (rhymes with Lola). Meet Yola. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Yola, which means “firefly” in the African language Hausa was chosen because the new gorilla has been a spark that has catalyzed and solidified the bonds within her mom’s group. Hear more from zookeeper Stephanie Payne-Jacobs on why they selected this name: Video: And our baby gorilla's new name is... We are grateful to all of you who submitted name suggestions, and many thanks to our gorilla fans who have followed the story of our new western lowland gorilla. She has sparked a fire in all of our hearts to fight for a future for this critically endangered species. Every time you visit the zoo, you support our conservation efforts in Africa and beyond. Show

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor With an older brother named Eagle , it is only fitting that this year's first penguin chick—the 51st hatched at the zoo since 2010—would carry on the family tradition with a Northwest raptor-inspired name. This week we asked our Facebook fans to cast their vote for their favorite name: Falcon, Hawk or Merlin. With 70% of the vote, the clear winner is Merlin, so named for the small falcon species. The parents, 8-year-old Dora and 3-year-old Maximiliano, are providing care for the new chick and their other new hatchling who has not yet been named. If you've ever spotted the holes along the cliffs of the penguin exhibit, those are entries into nesting burrows where the parents rear their chicks. Note the holes in the background: these are the entries into the penguin burrows. Inside the burrows, the penguin couple tend to their young. Staff weighs the chick regularly to ensure it is achieving growth milestones, and it

Posted by: Snow Leopard Trust , a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife The Ranger Rewards Program aims to both recognize and empower Kyrgyz wildlife rangers for their difficult, sometimes, dangerous job. Photo: Snow Leopard Trust. A total of ten Kyrgyz wildlife rangers have received a Citizen Ranger Wildlife Award for their courage in the fight against illegal hunting in the country’s snow leopard habitat in 2015. They were publicly honored in a ceremony in Bishkek today, on World Wildlife Day. Chinasilov Baktibek, a regional wildlife inspector, received an award for his role in bringing to justice a poacher who had illegally hunted and killed a brown bear and an ibex in Sary-Chelek reserve. The poacher he captured with the help of two colleagues has been sentenced to pay a $12,000 fine. Another award was given to Abdykarimov Urustamaly Hamdamalievich, a ranger working with the Department of Rational Use of Natural Resources. He stopped and apprehended a group of poacher

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Video and photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Every four years, Leap Day occurs on the 29th of February to round out our Gregorian calendars. With 6 extra hours accumulating each year, Leap Day serves as an “extra” day to make up for our not-exactly-even trips around the sun.  To help fill your 24 leaping hours, we bring you a closer look at the anatomy of a leap. With a little help from some very special creatures, a slow motion camera and a lot of patience (have you ever tried directing a frog?) here is a closer look at what it takes to leap. A frog’s leap can make the difference in its survival, the difference in becoming prey or catching prey. With a myriad of potential predators, including birds, fox, cats, snakes and people, as well as a host of elusive prey such as crickets, spiders, worms and fish—it’s no wonder frogs have mastered the art of a fast leap. Whether in an attempt to elude a predator or catch

Posted by: Stephanie Payne-Jacobs, Zookeeper Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. While the experience of providing hands-on care for a baby gorilla is unique and rewarding, it’s with mixed emotions that keepers and Animal Health staff have taken on this responsibility. The ultimate goal of our current long hours and intense focus is to see the baby integrated into her true gorilla family. Until then, raising Nadiri’s baby in close proximity to her family reminds us that our biggest priority is to raise her as a gorilla, and to instill in her an understanding that she is indeed one of the amazing gorillas that she sees, smells and hears throughout the day. In this update, I’d like to provide a glimpse into the progress we are making toward that goal in our work behind the scenes. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. Over the three months since giving birth, Nadiri continues to develop a relationship with her baby, which evolves as the baby goe