Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications With Lead Animal Keeper Katie Ahl Olivia and Dave on the savanna. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo. Have you “herd” the news? We recently announced that Olivia the giraffe is expecting her second baby this spring ! Olivia had her first baby in 2013, but this will be the first offspring between Olivia and Dave. There is a lot of excitement around a giraffe pregnancy, and a lot of hard work that goes into preparing and planning for a birth and a baby giraffe. We chatted with animal keeper (and giraffe doula) Katie Ahl to find out what to expect when you’re expecting a baby giraffe. WPZ : First off, how’s Olivia doing? Katie : Olivia is doing very well. She’s eating well and seems comfortable and relaxed. We have been planning for this pregnancy for almost 2 years. We took Olivia off birth control late in 2017 and started monitoring her cycle to see when she would be in estrus. This is a very small window of about 24 hours so

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Komodo dragon at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo What do you do when your 150-pound Komodo dragon needs to visit the doctor? You put him in the car and drive to the vet’s office, right? Well, it’s not quite that simple—but a recent appointment for Selat, one of our older Komodo dragons, provides a good opportunity to show how our awesome animal care team comes up with custom plans to meet the health needs of every critter in our care. Whether we’re working with the small and fluffy or the large and scaly, our team will do anything for animals! Selat gets regular physical therapy treatments from the zoo's animal care team. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/WPZ Selat is a 20-year-old male Komodo who is geriatric. Like many aging animals (and humans) he is experiencing mobility issues in his joints and limbs related to advanced osteo-arthritis. For the last couple years, Woodland Park Zoo staff have been wor

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos by PAWS Wildlife Center Female black bear recovering at PAWS Wildlife Center. Photo credit: PAWS Wildlife Center Sometimes wild animals need a little help. In this case, a particularly big wild animal needed more than a little help. Today, this female American black bear is resting comfortably, healing and recovering at PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood —but a few months ago her very survival was dependent on the cooperation of several partners dedicated to wildlife conservation. In early December, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received a call about a female bear that had been hit by a car in Poulsbo, Washington, east of Seattle. Black bears aren’t often seen in our region at that time of year because they typically den up for the winter months, but they do occasionally wake to move around or change denning sites. It took several days of searching but wildlife officers were finally able to locate and immobi

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications In just a few weeks, Woodland Park Zoo Senior Conservation Scientist Lisa Dabek, PhD, will be back in Papua New Guinea to continue her work for the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP). During that time, Dabek will meet with national government officials and the U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea to discuss TKCP’s goals for 2019 and beyond, which include incorporating the One Health approach into existing local governments’ initiatives. Young children (and future conservationists) celebrate TKCP's 20th anniversary in 2016. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo “The health of humans, wildlife and the environment is all interconnected,” says Dabek. Dabek founded TKCP, Woodland Park Zoo’s flagship conservation program, 22 years ago as a study on endangered tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea—an island nation with immense biological diversity that is home to one of the last remaining intact cloud forests on the planet. But the same

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications We have some very exciting news! Our 12-year-old giraffe Olivia is expecting her second baby this spring. Olivia's birth window is mid-March into late April. Olivia! Tufani with baby Lulu in 2017. This baby giraffe will mark the first offspring between Olivia and 6-year-old Dave. Olivia had her first baby, Misawa, in 2013 with Chioke, who passed away that same year. Their offspring, Misawa, stole our hearts with his adorably grumpy face. In  2017 Olivia’s sister Tufani gave birth to #SeattlesTallestBaby Lulu (Dave was the father). Olivia, Dave and Tufani make up our current herd of giraffes until this new baby arrives in spring 2019. “Now that Olivia’s in her third trimester, we’re seeing more signs of a pregnancy such as weight gain and a rounder belly. Judging by the size of her belly, combined with fecal testing results, our guess is that Olivia will give birth in mid-April,” says Katie Ahl, our expert giraffe doula and lea

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Our grizzly bears, Keema and Denali, celebrate their 25th birthday on January 15. We've watched them grow from rough and tumble cubs to handsome beasts with fine-tuned palates for salmon, a penchant for romping through their stream and a remarkable nose for coffee grounds. They have inspired thousands of guests to take conservation actions and protect Pacific Northwest habitat. To mark the occasion, we’re giving you the gift of 25 fun facts about our favorite grizzlies—one for each glorious year! Happiest Birthday, sweet bears! 1. Keema and Denali are twins—born January 15, 1994—and have been together their whole lives. 2. Their age is an indicator of the good care they receive here at Woodland Park Zoo. The average life expectancy for a wild male grizzly is 22 but bears in human care can live much longer. The cubs kickin' it in the stream way back in 1994! 3. They are “Cougar bears”. OK, not really, but they were

Posted by Meghan Sawyer, Communications Woodland Park Zoo’s baby Matschie’s tree kangaroo is now venturing out of his mother’s pouch! In time, the joey named Ecki will leave the pouch permanently as he grows more confident and independent. Tree kangaroo joey, Ecki, peeks out of his mother's pouch. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo “Ecki” is named after a beloved elder from one of the remote Papua New Guinea villages that works with Woodland Park Zoo to help protect tree kangaroos and their habitat. The joey and his mother, 11-year-old Elanna, live behind the scenes in an off-view habitat at the zoo. A joey’s journey  While Ecki is just now being introduced to the world, he was actually born eight months ago. When joeys are born, they’re only the size of a jelly bean! Within just one to two minutes of birth, that tiny baby has to crawl from the birth canal, through the mother’s fur, and into the pouch to immediately begin nursing. That’s exactly what Eck