Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications with Amanda Dukart, Animal Keeper We have a host of amazing staff, including animal keepers. Our Keeper Spotlight series aims to highlight their work and their passion for saving species as well as getting our readers an insider view of what it might be like to work at Woodland Park Zoo. Hello! My name is Amanda and I work as an animal keeper at Woodland Park Zoo. I currently work with tree kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies, emus, kea, kookaburra, masked lapwing, wonga pigeons, blue-faced honeyeaters. But in the past I’ve worked with everything from big cats to primates, grizzly bears to reptiles! Today I am going to show you around my day-to-day a bit and how I work with our tree kangaroos. Amanda poses with a snack of fresh veggies for the tree kangaroos. This is their indoor space, behind the scenes. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology and then started my animal keeping experience at Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, North Dako

Posted by Peter Zahler, Vice President of Conservation Initiatives Mount Rainier peeks across the treetops. Photo by John Westrock via Flickr. I am one of the roughly 10,000 people who moved to the Seattle area in 2018. Like most of those ten thousand-plus, I was drawn by the unique quality of life found here — the combination of a burgeoning economy bringing unparalleled opportunity, and the extraordinary bounty of nature found within easy reach of even city dwellers. Seattle sunset. Photo by Maciek Lulko via Flickr. What I was astonished to discover is that the incredible spread of nature’s palette across Washington was much greater than I first realized. Just within western Washington it includes the huge sweep of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges, rising to snow-capped peaks and covered in thick forests of giant conifers and a moss-wrapped elfin understory; and the expansive salt waters and coastal wetlands of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washingt

 Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Hey soon-to-be-mama, Olivia! Photo by Jeremy Dywer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo. Our very pregnant giraffe, Olivia, has been put on 24-hour birth watch after showing signs late last week of approaching labor. The birth window began mid-March and extends until the end of April. “We’re definitely seeing signs of Olivia nearing labor—we think she’ll give birth any day now,” says Katie Ahl, a lead animal keeper at Woodland Park Zoo. “She’s more restless, there are noticeable changes in her udder, and she’s extending her tail and spreading her rear legs frequently. In addition, she and Dave are showing more affectionate behavior toward one another, a telltale sign of hormonal changes occurring in the expectant mom.” A pregnant Oliva, right, next to sister Tufani, left. Photo by Jeremy Dywer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo’s animal care staff are monitoring Olivia closely at the zoo and several times throughout the night via ba

Posted by Tany Holzworth, Learning and Innovation Woodland Park Zoo saves wildlife and inspires everyone to make conservation a priority in their lives. The ways people take action for conservation range from dropping their “Quarters for Conservation” into our voting kiosks — to helping establish Papua New Guinea’s first conservation area with our Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program . One of the many ways the zoo invites our community to take conservation action is through our robust volunteer program.  Volunteers are at the heart of our mission. Zoo volunteers donate over 90,000 hours annually and share a diverse and talented skill set. Our volunteers embody “making conservation a priority.” Each year during National Volunteer Week (April 7 – 13) we celebrate the vibrant community of volunteers that supports Woodland Park Zoo! Every year, Woodland Park Zoo volunteers invite new ambassadors into the zoo community and coach them into the invaluable resource you enco

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications The critically endangered Malayan tiger just got another helping hand from a coalition of wildlife conservation organizations, shining a brighter light of hope for the magnificent big cat. Malaysia’s new Kenyir State Park has just been designated an additional 48,466 acres. Combined with another logging concession protected in May 2018, the new park now spans 74,140 rain forest acres—nearly three times the park’s original size and three times the size of San Francisco. A Critically Endangered Malayan Tiger takes a swim. Photo by Hans Stieglit Kenyir State Park is the first-ever state park for the state of Terengganu and the first state park to be gazetted in Peninsular Malaysia since 2007. The Malayan tiger is one of six subspecies of tigers and lives only on the Malay Peninsula and in the southern tip of Thailand. The population for Malayan tigers is dangerously low—fewer than 250 survive in their natural range. They face treme

Posted by Katie Remine, Youth & Adult Engagement Manager, Woodland Park Zoo with Ryan Driscoll, Lead Learning Facilitator, Woodland Park Zoo and Amy Twito, Informal Learning Program Manager, The Seattle Public Library Cherry blossoms are blooming, spring is in the air, the perfect time to soak up nature! Photo via  https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasphuston/ Zoos, science museums, and public libraries all share a common goal: to inspire lifelong learning and curiosity in the world around us. In the spirit of fostering experiential learning across generations and supporting early childhood and youth development, Woodland Park Zoo and The Seattle Public Library are bringing an exciting, new learning opportunity to Seattle-based children and families. In partnership with Science Action Club of the California Academy of Sciences , we are thrilled to offer an adventurous “Bug Safari” curriculum for after-school and summer programming! This summer, the library will b

Posted by Kirsten Pisto, Communications and Laurel Abbotts, Learning and Innovation, Woodland Park Zoo. Empathy is an emotion that is very useful to coexisting with other people. In its most basic definition, empathy is an understanding of experiences or perspectives of others. Whether those ‘others’ are kids sharing the swing set with you or a fellow commuter stuck on I-5, we can all pretty much agree that empathy is an important tool to getting along with your fellow humans. But what about empathy for animals, and even more so, what about using empathy to inspire conservation action? If the opposite of apathy is empathy, surely we can harness our very human emotions to collectively take action on behalf of wildlife, ecosystems and the planet. Watch:  https://youtu.be/CIZnvA4y3RQ "Woodland Park Zoo has co-created  Advancing Conservation Through Empathy for Wildlife , a learning network with 19 zoos and aquariums from around the United States to study how empathy is spark