Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Inspired by the sweeping marshlands of Northeast India—where broadleaf forests meet elephant grasses, rolling rivers and dense pockets of jungle—Assam Rhino Reserve evokes the timelessness of nature’s grandeur. Yet look closer. The new exhibit, opening this May at Woodland Park Zoo, confronts one of the most enduring battles of species conservation: wildlife trafficking. The same wildness we revere in Earth’s breathtaking landscapes, we put at risk for trinkets, knickknacks, placebo medicines, and trophies. Photo of greater one-horned rhinos by Grahm S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Rhinos have become one of the most iconic symbols of wildlife trafficking. But trafficking is not an issue isolated to the wildlife of Asia and Africa. The Assam Rhino Reserve will help shed light on a very local problem—trafficked animals that are smuggled through our own sea and airports, and local species that are also being illegally killed for the

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Peter Zahler will join Woodland Park Zoo as Vice President of Conservation Initiatives in March 2018. As Peter Zahler asks in his article, Super Rare Super Squirrel , “What glides down mountains at night, sleeps in cliff caves during the day, eats primarily pine needles, and was thought to be extinct for 70 years? And, at four feet in length, is the biggest gliding mammal in the world?” Hint: it’s the same species that Peter rediscovered in Pakistan in 1994—the woolly flying squirrel (which was then thought to be extinct). Peter is no stranger to enigmatic species having led conservation projects from Alaska, Arizona, Venezuela and Peru, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji to the temperate mountains and vast grasslands of Central Asia. He has studied animals like the Asiatic cheetah, snow leopard, markhor, hoatzin, bristle-thighed curlew, Mongolian gazelle and grasshopper mouse. Peter’s 30 years of professional experience in cons

Posted by Alissa Wolken, Communications Hello, little ones! Footage of 6-week-old sloth bear cubs in the den with mom, Tasha. ( https://youtu.be/mbOJOale-Fs ) Tasha's 6-week-old sloth bear cubs have opened their eyes! New footage, captured on the zoo’s maternity den cam, shows the growing cubs becoming more mobile and opening their eyes. The two cubs, born December 27, 2017 , are the offspring of 13-year-old mother Tasha and 17-year-old father Bhutan. Cub kiss! Tasha gives her cubs a bath and snuggles them in the den. Screenshot from the keeper cam used to monitor the family. The mother and newborn cubs remain in an off-view maternity den to allow for their best possible welfare. This time is critical for maternal bonding and undisturbed nursing. Animal care staff is monitoring the new family via a camera inside the maternity den to ensure the cubs continue to thrive. Currently, the cubs are doing well and developing well.  Woodland Park Zoo is a participant

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Chinta, our eldest female orangutan, is turning the big 5-0—a cause for celebration! Join us on February 17 for Chinta's birthday bash.  The zoo will shower Chinta and her fellow companions with gift-wrapped presents full of favorite treats, streamers and flowers. And, of course, birthday cake! Chef David Van Gelder with Lancer Hospitality, the zoo’s food concessionaire, will bake a ginger-carrot cake fit for an orangutan and loaded with favorite ape ingredients including carrots, sweet potatoes and ginger. Chinta cools off with a shower in summer 2017. Photo by Carolyn Sellar, Woodland Park Zoo. The birthday girl is the oldest animal currently living at Woodland Park Zoo and one of the oldest female orangutans in North America. Save the date for Chinta's birthday bash! Saturday, February 17, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Cake and presents for Chinta: 10:30 a.m.   Birthday activities will take place at the orangu

Posted by: Ryan Driscoll, Education Photos by Ryan Driscoll, Woodland Park Zoo The issues of poaching and wildlife trafficking can seem black and white—it’s bad news.  At least that was the initial sentiment of many of the middle school students who participated in this last semester’s ZooCrew, Woodland Park Zoo’s after-school program. However, as the students explored the issue, they started to realize just how complex the causes and solutions can be.   One student explained why poaching in Africa can be a difficult issue, “people poach because they need the money and they can’t find a job that will pay them enough.  They need to have a way to feed their families.”  This led the students to explore a range of solutions such as recruiting those poachers to become rangers (who protect wildlife), building sustainable industries and supporting local communities that offer alternative employment.  They then explored ways that people here in Seattle could help. They created pro

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications How would you like to lend a helping hand to frogs, toads and salamanders in our backyard? You can by becoming a volunteer citizen scientist to monitor our ponds and wetlands! Pacific treefrog spotted at Forterra's Hazel Wolf Wetland. Photo: Mike Mallitt.  Over a six-month period, citizen science volunteers will monitor eight different species of frogs, toads, and salamanders in wetlands throughout western Washington, which may include Mercer Slough Nature Park, parks in Seattle and King County and, potentially, Snohomish County Public Works sites. Volunteers are required to participate in a classroom and field training session on February 10 or February 17. Teens between ages 14 and 18 are welcome and encouraged to join a monitoring team with at least one other teen participant. Sign up for a training session at www.zoo.org/amphibianmonitoring . We will team up with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to c

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications Photos by John Loughlin, Woodland Park Zoo Hello Yukiko! The 12 ½ year old red panda lives behind the scenes in Woodland Park Zoo’s red panda yard where he and Hazel take part in the Red Panda Species Survival Plan. While standing on his green balance bone, Yukiko the red panda moves his head from side to side, then up and down. The movements work his abdominal and back muscles as well as spine flexibility. The red panda is undergoing therapy which includes massage, laser therapy and exercises which work his muscles and strengthen his core. Yukiko is 12 ½ years old, so he is showing the normal signs of aging which include minor spondylosis, aging in the spine. Yukiko’s keepers noticed a slight decline in mobility as he moved around his enclosure and especially going up and down the ramps. After deciding on a therapy program with our veterinary team, keepers introduced Yukiko to the therapy equipment, such as his green balance