Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Fred W. Koontz, PhD, Vice President of Field Conservation Photos by: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo except where noted Taman Negara National Park. Each year, I travel to Malaysia to meet with colleagues working on Malayan tiger conservation. These trips are essential for good partner communications and ensuring the zoo’s field support is effectively placed. But my most recent visit in June was something quite different. This time, I traveled to Malaysia with 13 of the nation's top tiger zookeepers in tow, including those from National Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, San Francisco Zoo and Zoo Miami, to name just a few. The group included Woodland Park Zoo tiger keeper, Christine Anne, who had been eagerly  preparing for this trip for what seemed like a long time. Christine knew this was an opportunity to see tiger habitat, learn about threats to their survival, discuss conservation solutions with tiger experts and meet local people sharing land with big cats. Equ

Guest scientist post by: Marc Ancrenaz, PhD, HUTAN, a Woodland Park Zoo Partner for Wildlife Courtesy of HUTAN. Orangutans are now one step closer to extinction. Based on an assessment led by Borneo Futures, scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have officially downgraded the status of the orangutans living in Borneo to Critically Endangered , the last step before reaching the dreadful status of Extinct in the Wild. Scientists have proven that the number of orangutans will decline by about 80% between 1950 and 2025 given current development plans by the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia. These numbers are hard to fathom. To put them in perspective, an 80% decline is equivalent to losing four out of five people you know ; it is equivalent to the disappearance of a staggering six billion of the current global human population in 75 years with no new births. Actually, many populations of orangutans have already disappeared in Borne

Posted by: Bettina Woodford, PhD, Communications Alejandro Grajal, PhD, our new president and CEO, has a big goal: to make conservation for everybody. He’s convinced that Woodland Park Zoo is the best place to achieve it. Alejandro is an internationally recognized voice for the power of modern zoos. He believes they are essential to help humans embrace their biggest challenge to date: developing a new relationship with nature and all beings with whom we share the planet. To the challenge he brings deep and global expertise in conservation science, environmental education, and animal welfare advocacy. In this interview with Alejandro, we explore what brought him to the Great Pacific Northwest—via Venezuela, Florida, New York and Chicago—and his vision for Woodland Park Zoo. You began your career as a biologist in the field. How did your trajectory turn to leadership roles in zoos?  I’m a water man—I love anything in the water. I graduated with a degree in marine ecolog

Whether you’re a member, donor, visitor or community partner, your continued support reflects your belief that in an increasingly urban and technology-driven society, zoos matter more than ever. Here is where we weave together face-to-face encounters with animals, hands-on environmental learning and action-based programs that engage our community in vital, global efforts to protect wildlife and wild places. Here is how you make that possible. Check out the full 2015 Community Impact Report  including achievements like these: 1. You helped welcome Yola to the world and ensured she developed a strong bond with mom, Nadiri Your generosity helped fund 24/7 care of baby gorilla Yola when first-time mom Nadiri did not initially show strong maternal behaviors. Through daily interactions, mom and baby have now bonded and little Yola is thriving with her gorilla family! Yola is a natural climber. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo. 2. You helped stop wildlife poache

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Artists of all ages, join us in welcoming a flutter of colorful wings to Woodland Park Zoo. In celebration of the new Molbak's Butterfly Garden, we are holding a coloring contest with a few fabulous prizes. Get out your colored pencils, markers, watercolors or crayons (anything goes) and show us your most creative design. Just like butterflies, coloring can be a reflection of inner beauty, tranquility and expression. We can’t wait to see your artwork!  If you are a member, then you've already received the summer issue of MyZoo  member magazine with the coloring contest template inside. You can also download and print the template below. Print the drawing template by clicking here. We recommend printing at 11" x 17" Don't wait to get started, we are offering some pretty awesome prizes if you win. PRIZES Adults (13 years and older) Grand prize winner: Tour Molbak’s Butterfly Garden with entomologist

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Editor Malayan tigers are on a thin line between here and gone, but there is hope. If we protect their habitat and keep them out of the hands of poachers, tiger populations can rebound. On a recent trip, Woodland Park Zoo animal care, field conservation and communications staff joined a MYCAT volunteer patrol deep in the tiger’s forest realm. They placed a 360° camera in one of the planet’s most ancient rain forests to show you what’s at stake. Use the controls to peer around this slice of tiger habitat located in a critical wildlife corridor along the edge of Taman Negara, Malaysia’s premier national park. Video: 360° View of Malaysian Tiger Forest.  NOTE: 360°-view enabled browser required to explore full view of the video. The fact that you can barely see much in the distance is a good thing—the density of this forest supports incredible diversity of life. When we fight to protect tiger forests, we’re saving the home of so many more, from lich

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications The summer air is almost still, delicately scented with a sweet, seasonal bloom. Brilliantly winged creatures flit and float between lupine, spirea and honeysuckle. Here in the Molbak’s Butterfly Garden , speak softly and step carefully as you enter another world. Opening Sat., July 2, the new exhibit takes flight with 500 free-flying butterflies from at least 15 native North American species. You’ll get a full sensory introduction to the fragility and resilience of nature as flowers bloom and butterflies emerge around you. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Brittney Bush Bollay/Woodland Park Zoo. The presence of a single butterfly is enchanting—tiny, delicate and fairylike. Their littleness can be measured in grams, their adult lifespan sometimes just months, weeks or days. Yet butterflies are also grand in scale. In the Lepidoptera taxonomic order, there are at least 15,000 butterfly species and 250,000 moth species.