Woodland Park Zoo Blog

 Posted by Susan Bell, Development Seattleites know that we receive an amazing, and some say wonderful, amount of rain annually.  Where that rain lands and what each drop encounters along its journey to our waterways is critical to animal and plant conservation. Here at the zoo and all around our region, it’s our mission to save wildlife and inspire everyone to make conservation a priority in their lives. Together, let’s focus on water! What are you and our zoo doing in our daily lives to promote clean water for our wild river otters, great blue herons, barred owls—and all our Pacific Northwest animals—as well as for you and me? Photo of Nooksack Falls by Dylan Luder on Unsplash What you can do from home: Let’s be water wise. While over 70% of our planet is covered in water, only 3% is fresh water. Of that, less than 1% is available for consumption. Saving water isn't just about saving water. The energy needed to treat and deliver water is also precious. Saving water helps reduce

Posted by Katie Remine, Coordinator for Living Northwest Conservation Photos courtesy of Seattle Urban Carnivore Project / Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle University. It’s been a year of carnivore spotting — thank you for joining us in learning about our urban carnivores, such as coyotes, raccoons, bobcats and black bears!  From Carnivore Spotter ’s launch in mid-August 2019 to mid-July 2020, a total of 4,217 reports were submitted. The number of reports submitted per month was highest in the first few months following the launch of Carnivore Spotter, settling out to an average of 175 reports per month from November 2019 – July 2020 (with a bump of 256 reports submitted in May 2020). Reports came in from across Washington, but the majority came from Seattle. Within Seattle, most reports were submitted from north Seattle, primarily in the Ravenna, Wedgwood, Maple Leaf, Phinney Ridge, and Green Lake neighborhoods. Coyotes have been the most reported species, making up nearly 50% of all rep

Posted by Stephen Reed and Meghan Sawyer, Communications This has been a year of many challenges and changes—and for some that also has meant some hardship, separation and even loss. Still, there is much to be thankful for. We have been inspired by kids from our community who have found creative and thoughtful ways to safely reach out with kindness, spread joy and show they care for animals and for people.  Mia and her friends have a safe, socially-distanced meet-up at the zoo! Photo: Courtesy of Mia's family. MIA Nine-year-old Mia really likes the animals and the people at Woodland Park Zoo—and before the pandemic, she used to go there on a bus to meet up with and visit friends. In the spring, when quarantine started, Mia was only able to see classmates and teammates on video screens.  When they were unable to visit in person, Mia left animal-inspired care packages for her friends with t-shirts and coloring sheets. Photo: Courtesy of Mia's family As a way to reach out and get

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications On the left is one of our snowy owlets a few weeks after hatching. On the right, one of those same youngsters now. Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren (L) and Susan Burchardt (R)/Woodland Park Zoo  Oh what a difference four months can make! This past July, we welcomed a pair of snowy owl chicks to our zoo family—the first hatching of this species at Woodland Park Zoo in nine years. And these wide-eyed youngsters—a brother and sister—are already the same size as their parents!  Male snowy owl, Dusty, is the father of our four-month old pair. Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo Female, June, is a fierce first-time mama! Photo: Susan Burchardt/Woodland Park Zoo First-time parents, mom June and dad Dusty were paired under the Snowy Owl Species Survival Plan, which is a cooperative, conservation breeding program to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population for at-risk species. They live with their brood in the Northern Trail habitat where th

Posted by Seattle Youth Climate Action Network We're inspired by all of our SYCAN teens! 2018 Photo: Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo The Seattle Youth Climate Action Network—known as SYCAN—empowers teens to address climate change in their communities through education, leadership, and action. This year, the SYCAN teens gathered remotely to create digital engagement tools focused on food and food-related business sustainability. Here is a post from that group in their own words, sharing what they were up to this summer—which included putting together a downloadable cookbook of sustainable recipes  for you to try, share and enjoy. Just in time for the holiday feast you might be planning, we hope this is a delicious and inspiring read! Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash One of the biggest trends to hit at the start of quarantine was home baking and cooking. Even in isolation, many found ways to connect by sharing recipes online. But what kinds of foods were being popularized? How ca

Posted by Lisa Dabek, Director and Senior Conservation Scientist, with Trevor Holbrook, Program Manager, Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program As we near the end of the most challenging year anyone could have imagined and look ahead to a hopeful new year, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) team would like to take this opportunity to wish you good health and safety and express our deepest gratitude for your continued interest and support. 2020 was a unique year for TKCP and the people and wildlife of YUS, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Our program continues to make significant impacts for conservation, and we are proud to share a few of our recent highlights. Photo by Jonathan Byers/TKCP Thrive Wildlife Heroes We hope you will join us for an inspiring live stream event featuring Dr. Lisa Dabek as our keynote speaker and Conservation Leadership Award Honoree. Lisa brought the zoo-based knowledge of Matschie’s tree kangaroos to Papua New Guinea where no previous work had been done on th

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Not all babies born or hatched at Woodland Park Zoo are warm, cuddly, furry and feathered. Adding to this year's baby boom, the zoo is proud to announce its newest hatching: approximately 30 medicinal leeches (they’re very difficult to count!)! It will take about two to three years for the new leeches to reach their adult size of approximately 6 inches. The leech hatchlings are the offspring of multiple adults the zoo rescued four years ago. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confiscated the adult leeches from an individual traveling from Russia to the U.S. who attempted to smuggle more than 40 adult leeches in water bottles. Woodland Park Zoo accepted all the leeches into its care. Watch: Leeches are babies too!  https://youtu.be/LxMT0SRXehU Earlier this year, the zoo received 22 more adult leeches from a U.S. breeder; the adult leeches from Russia immediately started breeding with the new additions. “Woodland Park Zoo works closely with wildl