Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Janel Kempf, Early Childhood First, don’t worry—this does not involve butting heads with your kids. But it does give us all an excuse to think about some high-spirited zoo residents who arrived here as kids. Literally kids, in their case—mountain goats Zeus and Hera! You might remember these two arriving at the zoo in 2018 and 2019 as young kids who couldn’t be matched up with mothers during efforts to relocate the species from the Olympic Mountains to the North Cascades. Mountain goats are native to the Cascades, but were introduced to the Olympics in the 1920s to provide hunting opportunities. Zeus, Hera, and the 275 goats successfully relocated to the North Cascades over the past two and a half years are descendants of those goats. Mountain goats do a lot of scrambling, leaping, and bouncing—behaviors you might have also noticed in your early learners! Full-body, active play is vitally important for growing bodies. Equally so for growing minds, since a st

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Uzumma enjoying the spring sunshine with her 2-month old baby. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo We know you’ve been waiting for an update on mama Uzumma, her baby, dad Kwame and the rest of our Western lowland gorilla family—so here it is, just in time for Uzumma’s first Mother’s Day! Big thanks to gorilla keepers Stephanie and Judy for providing so many rich and descriptive details for us to share … and we’re happy to begin with the news that everything is going great and everyone seems healthy and content! WATCH VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/q40AGP4AcXA The group continues to do well with the new baby, who is about 2 months old now and will be named very soon. All the gorillas are still giving Uzumma lots of space when she needs it, and reverence. It’s common for members of a gorilla family to show a lot of respect for a new mother and infant—elevating their status in the group hierarchy. And seeing as Uzumma was already

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Photos courtesy of RS Holcomb There are two reasons to celebrate birds this week! Today, May 4th, is Bird Day. A tradition that started more than 120 years ago, it’s one of the oldest days set aside to promote North American bird conservation. And this coming Saturday, May 9th marks World Migratory Bird Day . This event has a broader focus on seasonal visitors and the need for protection of our planet’s major flight corridors between Africa and Eurasia, East Asia and Australia, and the Americas.  Annual migratory corridors for birds all over the world. Courtesy of Birdlife International   Whether you’re a novice bird watcher or a seasoned pro, there is beauty to be found in some of our most common year-round residents. You can even spot many of them in your own yard and neighborhood—a bonus at a time of physical distancing when safety is paramount. Here are a few to look out for. The American Robin is a type of thrush with a

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications It's hard to believe, but just one year ago, we celebrated the birth of our very special giraffe, Hasani.  Almost immediately after his birth, congenital abnormalities were diagnosed in the tiny giraffe's rear legs. Thanks to the dedicated care by our zoo veterinary and giraffe care teams, including consultation with a Kentucky-based equine veterinarian, Hasani was successfully outfitted with a series of customized therapeutic shoes which corrected his condition over several weeks. Hasani’s story of hope and triumph reached far and wide across the country and around the world. Many of you wrote to us to empathize with the hard work from our staff and to send love to the baby giraffe. We heard from thousands of individuals whose hearts, minds and spirits were touched and inspired by this remarkable story. Today, we celebrate his first trip around the sun and just how much our love continues to grow for him. Happy Birthday, Has

Posted by Janel Kempf, Early Childhood Among the things our early learners are missing (for now) is close contact with their extended families. There’s nothing like a storybook read by Granddad or an outing with their coolest Auntie to make a youngster’s day special!  Our gorillas are a great example of the importance of extended family in the lives of little ones. New mom Uzumma is doing an incredible job with her newborn son, and that’s certainly thanks in part to the attentive care she had throughout her early life from her mother, Amanda. And when that little one gets a little older, he and his mom will have plenty of support from their extended, blended family—and will likely be providing support themselves!  Little Yola, exploring a spring day. Uzumma’s example of excellent infant care will benefit four-year-old Yola as she grows up. Her own mother, Nadiri, didn’t know what to do when Yola was first born, having been keeper-reared as a newborn due to her own m

Editor's note:   Clare’s reading of this wonderful story is courtesy of the fine folks at  Lerner Publishing Group  and will be available for you to watch and share until Sept 30, 2020. We will remove the link to this video after the 30th of September, 2020, thanks for understanding. Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Yola in 2016. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Looking for a way to keep your little ones entertained while learning from home? How about joining us for a Growing Up Gorilla read-aloud story time! You may know about the new addition to our western lowland gorilla family—a baby boy born to first-time mother Uzumma and silverback Kwame . Uzumma is a great mom, no doubt thanks to skills passed down from her own attentive mother. But what happens when a mother gorilla doesn’t know how to care for her baby? Nadiri and Yola in 2016. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Seattle author Clare Meeker spent more than two years d

Posted by Janel Kempf, Early Childhood Music and dance are important to so many people, in cultures all around the world. We use it to express joy and sorrow, to deepen our connections to our culture and nature, and even to learn. Animals around the world and all over the zoo use music and dance in their daily lives as well—and at the zoo, some of them are hard not to notice! Siamang pair Bagus and Sam live in the Trail of Vines near the Malayan tapir and the orangutans, but can be heard well outside of zoo grounds when they really put their hearts into singing duets. Their complex song is an important pair-bonding activity for these small apes, and in their native habitat lets other siamang pairs know their territory is already taken.   Pair bonding is a common purpose in the animal world for dancing, too—just like it can be for people! Not far from Bagus and Sam, in the Assam Rhino Reserve, a beautiful bird couple may have caught your eye. They’re demoiselle cranes Louis and Anto