Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications This whole week—which has been National Zookeeper Week—we’ve been celebrating our amazing animal keepers and showing them some love! Looking out for our animals is more than just a job for WoodlandPark Zoo’s keepers. Lead animal keeper Alyssa strikes a very komodo dragon pose. Most of these dedicated professionals consider their critters to be parts of their extended family—a furry, feathered, scaly and hairy family. We would be happy to accept a rose from either Lucy the raccoon or from Regina, one of our awesome animal keepers. Among Woodland Park Zoo’s animal keeper staff, you will find scientists, researchers, educators, wildlife rehabbers, conservationists and environmental stewards. Christine, Ros, Carolyn, Jenna and Drew make for the most marvelous meerkat mob. They represent the heart and soul of what we do, caring for our animals, providing our guests with amazing experiences and just generally being a

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Silverspot butterfly. Photo by Mike Patterson Woodland Park Zoo is part of a team that released 500 Oregon silverspot butterfly caterpillars last week on the slopes of Saddle Mountain located in Oregon.   A team from Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Oregon Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service work together to save butterflies. Photo by Trevor Taylor More than 200 of the released caterpillars were raised this summer at the zoo’s butterfly conservation lab. The reintroduction to the habitat is part of a collaborative, ongoing effort to stabilize the declining population of Oregon silverspot butterflies. Caterpillars were raised in a conservation lab over the winter. Photo by Mike Patterson Other team members joining the caterpillar release were Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Oregon Zoo.   It's a team effort! Photo by Michael Cash/Woodland Par

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Public Relations Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo More than 1,000 Seattle leaders and philanthropists came together at Woodland Park Zoo’s 42nd Annual Jungle Party fundraising event, giving collectively more than $2 million for the zoo’s pioneering work and conservation mission.  This year’s Jungle Party, themed “Wander Into the Wild,” was held on July 13 and presented by title sponsors The Boeing Company and Callisons, Inc. Woodland Park Zoo Board members Jim Burgett, Ben Magnano, Matt Rosauer, Ethan Stowell and Evan Wyman co-chaired the event. “The extraordinary generosity of our Jungle Party patrons this year is humbling, energizing and inspiring,” said Alejandro Grajal, President and CEO of Woodland Park Zoo. “The contributions from our long-term supporters and new friends will directly support local and global wildlife conservation, world-class animal care at our zoo and a considerable increase in access for children

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo On July 12, more than 45 endangered Western pond turtles were weighed, measured and marked for identification in preparation for being released to the wild at protected sites in Washington. Under the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project , the turtles were collected from the wild as eggs and given a head start on life under the care of Woodland Park Zoo to improve their chance of survival in the wild. Unlike wild turtles, they are fed at the zoo throughout the winter so that by summer they are nearly as big as 3-year-old turtles that grew up in the wild. Once the turtles reach about 2 ounces—a suitable size to escape the mouths of invasive predatory bullfrogs—they are returned to the wild and monitored by biologists. In 1991, only about 150 Western pond turtles remained in two populations in the state of Washington and the species nearly became extinct. In 1993, the state list

Posted by Rubai Aurora, Community Engagement Specialist Editor’s note: At the heart of our mission, we want everyone to love animals. Sharing the zoo experience means making our programming, physical spaces and storytelling accessible to all. Your zoo has been on a diversity and inclusion journey—mapping out ways we can more genuinely welcome and represent our community. In 2018 and beyond, you’ll see your zoo continue to work toward being a place where every individual can safely and profoundly take part in being a voice for conservation action. Woodland Park Zoo believes the zoo should be inclusive for all. On July 5, 2018, Woodland Park Zoo hosted our first Zoo for All, a day to celebrate our commitment to inclusion, and to acknowledge and honor families and individuals from the special needs community. More than just a day: Zoo for All was made possible through guidance from nonprofit partners in the community, including The Arc of King County,  Special O

Posted by Carolyn Stevens-Wood, Development ZooCorps, Woodland Park Zoo’s teen volunteer program, is truly committed to making their team an inclusive and accessible experience for all. We were thrilled when the Special Olympics USA Games highlighted our teens as one of their 2018 Game Changers. Woodland Park Zoo is committed to making the zoo a place of inclusion in which people of all backgrounds and abilities feel welcome and inspired to make conservation a priority in their lives. ZooCorps is truly exemplifying this promise through their dedication to Jonah and others with special needs.  ZooCorps is Woodland Park Zoo’s teen volunteer program and extends to all teens, no matter their abilities. The program allows teens to explore different departments within the zoo from animal care to horticulture and provides education at exhibits and camps. Jonah, a member of the ZooCorps team with special needs has been welcomed, included and able to work towards being an animal t