Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications We have some extremely exciting news to share... Woodland Park Zoo’s western lowland gorilla population has just gotten bigger—not by the birth of a gorilla, but the recent arrivals of two adult females and one adult male!    Olympia, Jamani and Nadaya! Photos of Olympia and Jamani by North Carolina Zoo, photo of Nadaya by Saint Louis Zoo. The females, 26-year-old Olympia and 22-year-old Jamani, arrived from North Carolina Zoo. The silverback, 21-year-old Nadaya, arrived from Saint Louis Zoo. Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks, which in the wild and in zoos play a critical role by providing stability, protecting, leading and maintaining peace in their family group. The plan is for the new adults to form a family unit with Jumoke, a 37-year-old female gorilla who was born at Woodland Park Zoo and has had three offspring. Jumoke has been living alone since she lost her male companion, Vip, who died last year due to age-related medical is

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher Looking for the perfect way to honor that rad dad or fabulous father figure in your life? We have a few ideas to spark joy for Father’s Day—coming up June 19. Xerxes was a wonderful father to his cubs. Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo Share a unique experience with Critter Connections * Each experience (20-25 minutes in total) features three of our ambassador animals for you to meet and greet. Whether it’s one of our furry mammals, a fine feathered friend or a rascally reptile, each one of our animals has a personality all their own and each can teach us something to help save wildlife. Plus, you can’t beat this unique photo-op and selfie opportunity! https://www.zoo.org/critterconnections Surprise him with tickets to Whiskey & WildBites * Experience Woodland Park Zoo after-hours while enjoying delicious cuisine prepared by more than a dozen of Seattle’s premiere chefs paired with several of the finest whiskey tastings this area has to offer. This adul

Post by Craig Newberry, Communications  Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo We are welcoming the newest member of pudu family, a tiny male fawn. Pudus are the smallest deer species in the world and are native to South America.  The fawn, which has yet to be named, was born May 5 to parents Ted and Maggie. The birth is the pudus' third offspring together since they were paired under the Pudu Species Survival Plan , a cooperative breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species. The fawn's father, Ted, is nearly 6 years old and arrived at the zoo in 2017. The mother, Maggie, 5, came in 2018. Their first offspring, Chile, was born in 2020 and now lives at the Queens Zoo in New York. The second offspring born last year, Ande, remains at Woodland Park Zoo. “The fawn and mother are healthy and bonding well. We’re confident their bonding will continue as the fawn gets more comfortable exploring his habitat,” say

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Buttons celebrates a milestone and reminds us to help wild animals stay wild! Happy birthday, Buttons! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The spring of 2022 marks a big milestone for one of the more well-known members of our elk herd—Buttons. While we don’t know her exact birthday, this sassy girl—who was born in the wild in eastern Washington—is turning 10 years old! Pregnant elk cows tend to have their calves within the same birthing window, which in our region ranges from the end of May through June. So, it is likely that Buttons was born sometime within that span of time in 2012. Why so scruffy, Buttons? In the spring, an elk's winter coat will drop off and molt into a sleek shorter summer coat. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Buttons gained notoriety several years ago in the area between Ellensburg and Cle Elum where residents—believing she was orphaned—began feeding her, petting her and even putting kids on

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Communications Both Papua New Guinea’s Matschie’s tree kangaroos and Nepal’s red pandas need healthy forests! An elusive kangaroo living in trees. A reddish-brown floof chilling atop the forest canopy. What do animals such as Papua New Guinea’s Matschie’s tree kangaroos and Nepal’s red pandas have in common? Both these red furry animals are the faces of forests where conservation has become a community movement. Why? Because we need forests and now, with the health of the world’s forests at risk, forests need us. Only when forests thrive can nature reach its full potential as a climate solution. Picture the stories of these animals and more in the new Forests for All exhibit experience coming to Woodland Park Zoo in 2026. Following a competitive process, the zoo has selected the Seattle-based LMN Architects as principal architects with CLR Design (Philadelphia and Capistrano Beach, Calif.) as habitat designers fo

Mother's Day is May 8th, 2022. Here are our 10 favorite gift ideas for every type of 'mom' in your life! 1. Name a Pollinator  in honor of mom! Support your zoo and choose from a bumblebee, hummingbird or butterfly. Gifts of any amount make a big difference in our work to preserve pollinator habitats, restore threatened butterfly populations and educate millions of visitors about the importance of biodiversity in sustaining all life.  zoo.org/nameapollinator 2. Butterflies and tea.  Plan the ultimate date with mom, gift her a visit to the zoo to see Molbak's Butterfly Garden (Any time after May 27th, when it opens for the season), then treat her to a mom-worthy tea or latte at a nearby coffee shop, we recommend Fresh Flours on Phinney.  3. Enjoy a new experience together! Check out Critter Connections, a new immersive and interactive zone where you can introduce mom to her new favorite ambassador animals. Get up close with Skyaana the porcupine, Harry the Skunk, Buddy

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo One of the three adorable Humboldt penguin chicks to recently hatch at Woodland Park Zoo.  World Penguin Day is today, April 25, a special day to celebrate all penguins on the planet and the recent hatching of three Humboldt penguins at Woodland Park Zoo. The three chicks hatched to three different sets of parents at the end of March and the first week in April. Most penguins mate for life. Incubation for penguins takes 40 to 42 days, with both parents sharing incubation duties in the nest and day-to-day care for their chicks. Penguin keeper Celine Pardo checks on the health of each Humboldt penguin chick before returning it to its parents in their cozy burrow. Woodland Park Zoo has one of the most successful Humboldt penguin breeding programs in North America with its new hatchlings bringing the total number of successful hatchings to 80 since the zoo’s first breeding season in 2010, a year after