Recent Stories with tag woodland park zoo

Finally! The five Humboldt penguins born in April have joined the colony and are now on view in the Woodland Park Zoo's penguin exhibit.  The chicks have lost their fuzzy baby down, in favor of the sleek look, which is much more swim-friendly (see video above).  But you can still tell the babies from the adults by their light gray feathers. 

For the past few weeks, the chicks have prepared for their public debut with a lot of one-on-one time with the zookeepers to get used to interacting with zoo staff and to learn how to enter and exit the exhibit.  They've also been learning how to swim in a shallow pool. Of course, Flip camera footage ensues.

And because we just celebrated Independence Day, the zoo is offering everyone the chance to exercise their inalienable rights to name zoo babies:...

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The Woodland Park Zoo writes to tell us that after counting more than 2,600 ballots, there are officially eight southern-African-inspired names for the mob of meerkats, back at the Zoo after a 10-year sabbatical:

The top vote getters and new names for the four female and four male meerkats, in order of greatest number of votes received, are: ZIMBA (Zambian town), NATA (southern African river), MOLOPO (southern African river), KIWANO (Kalahari fruit), KALAHARI (African desert), DINAWA (“beans” in Tswana), ACACIA (African tree), and NGAMI (lake in Botswana).

The photo above is by Dennis Dow. For more watermelon-and-meerkat viewing, visit the Zoo's blog.

Photo credit: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Those penguin chicks better watch out, because the kids are coming up from behind. Over the weekend, a baby pudu was born at the Woodland Park Zoo. I've never even heard of a pudu, but I'm sure it's come up in a crossword puzzle a time or two, as it's the smallest deer species in the world.

The pudu is native to South America, and grows to be 14-18 inches high (at the shoulder), weighing anywhere from 14-30 pounds. The tiny deer inhabits temperate rainforests, living in "dense underbrush and bamboo thickets" to avoid predators, like owls, pumas, foxes, and feral dogs. Of course, the biggest threat to the endangered pudu is man, with the pudu's natural habitat disappearing to development, agriculture, logging, and other human activities.

And while the baby penguins are still under wraps, the parents and baby pudu are on view in an exhibit adjacent to the flamingos. The new baby is the sixth offspring of a twelve-year-old mother and ten-year-old father pudu. (Check out this video for footage of a day-old pudu born at the zoo two years ago.) No word yet on the fawn's sex or potential name, but tomorrow marks a neonatal exam and weigh-in for the newborn, which means more pudu photos and video to come.

The meerkats are back! These eight have arrived from Point Defiance Zoo, four male, four female, and they definitely packed their charisma and curiosity with them. Tomorrow, May 1, Woodland Park Zoo is celebrating their arrival--and the grand opening of a new West Entrance--with six hours of festivities, including music by CocoLoco, giveaways, photo opportunities with a costumed meerkat mascot, meerkat mask-making, and meerkat keeper talks at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Things kick off at 9:30 a.m. and go until 3:30 p.m. 

The 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony for the West Entrance brings a host of dignitaries: U.S. Representative Jim McDermott (D-Seattle), Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn, Seattle City Council member Sally Bagshaw, Bank of America Washington Market President Peter Joers, Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen, and Woodland Park Zoo Board of Directors Chair and Co-chair of the Penguin/West Entrance Initiative, Cam Ragen. 

The West Entrance is really a new, 58,000-square-foot complex, with a commons area for head-counting and ticket booths, family restrooms, member and guest services, a second ZooStore location, and--later this summer--a Caffé Vita coffee cart.

That's the title of the first video released by the Woodland Park Zoo of their newborn Humboldt penguin, so why edit it?  The super-cute clip above is actually of the older of the two babies at the zoo, as this chick's sibling hatched just as expected on Easter. 

Both are being taken care of by first-time parents Dora and PJ, but are getting regular checkups by the zoo's staff.  That healthy little guy is just peeping away.  But he (or she--you can't tell with penguins at first) won't be little for much longer; the baby doubled its weight in only 6 days!  The older chick is now 5 ounces, while the brand-new baby is still half that size.

The penguin chicks won't be introduced to the public until sometime this summer, so for now we'll just have to settle for the videos and photos posted from time to time on the zoo's blog and YouTube channel.

Photo credit: Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Move over snow leopard cubs, the Woodland Park Zoo has a new baby on the block. A Humboldt penguin chick hatched yesterday. The wee baby penguin (only 2.1 ounces!) is the first offspring for mother Dora and father PJ, both three years old. And there's more where that came from: there's another five eggs--across three penguin pair nests in the zoo's Humboldt colony--at least three of which are believed to be fertile. Dora and PJ have another egg showing "pipping activity," and it's expected to hatch on Easter Sunday. Just like Jesus!

This'll be the first set of penguin babies hatched since the zoo got their Humboldt penguins last year and started on their species survival plan to breed this endangered bird. The chicks and parents will need some time to bond in private, so it won't be until early summer that you'll be able to see these little guys in the cute feathery flesh. By that point, the chicks will have molted from the grayish brown, downy feathers they're born with to completely gray feathers. It won't be till next year that they'll take on their adult look.

Woodland Park Zoo euthanized Gertrude, a 47-year-old, 5,000-lb., female hippo yesterday. I only mention her weight because she was suffering from age-related osteoarthritis, and even with medication displayed lameness and decreased mobility.

Dr. Darin Collins, the zoo’s director of Animal Health explained that while Gertrude’s health had been declining over the last year from her degenerative joint disease (a geriatric issue most kinds of animals face), the last week she'd taken a turn for the worse, and staff was no longer able to manage her pain.

A resident of Woodland Park Zoo since 1966, she was the oldest animal currently living at the zoo, say officials. Two female hippos will still slowly plod the zoo’s African Savanna exhibit: Water Lily (31) and Guadalupe (10).

Both can look forward to reaching Gertrude's advanced age. Thanks to "optimal nutrition, enriched physical/mental stimulation and preventive medicine, including regular examinations, vaccinations, diagnostics and treatments," hippos have reached 49 years in captivity (compared to an average of 45 in the wild).

If, with Gertrude's passing, you need some cheering up, you might like to read about the zoo's new meerkats. There's eight of them, who will be taking up residence in a semi-arid savanna habitat as of May 1.

The YouTube title says it all: Otter Cuteness for Valentine's Day!

As with most holidays, the Woodland Park Zoo will be giving the animals special treats to celebrate, but the otters got theirs early this year.  What they're snackin' on above is a "heart-shaped ice pop made with a splash of fruit juice, a handful of smelt, a sprinkling of carrots, and a whole lotta love."  Uh, yum?  Other critters will get honey, strawberries and cranberries, herbal bouquets, and heart-shaped steaks for the carnivores.

The zoo claims this break in routine, like Confuse-A-Cat (or Bewild-A-Beast, for that matter), keeps the animals alert and stimulated.

Full zoo Valentine's Day treat schedule after the jump.

• Golden lion tamarins 10:00 a.m.
• Snow leopards 10:30
• Otters 10:30
• Orangutans 11:00
• Goats 11:00
• Pigs 11:00
• Willawong Station 11:30
• Sloth bear 11:30
• Jaguar 1:00 p.m.
• Gorillas 1:20
• Penguins 1:30
• Lemurs 1:30
• Keas 1:30
• Tiger 2:00
• Elephants 2:00
• Red pandas 3:00

Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

The Woodland Park Zoo's new iPhone app ( iTunes app store ) costs 99 cents to download, but the proceeds go to support the zoo and its animals, so who can say no? It acts as a guide for your visit to the zoo--you can see where you are and where you want to go via GPS, learn more about the exhibit you're standing in front of, and time your arrival to feedings and talks.

• GPS-enabled zoo map with “Near Me” recommendations for animal exhibits, play areas, concession stands and restrooms
• daily schedule of zoo activities including zookeeper talks and children’s programs
• educational animal fact sheets
• special promotional offers redeemable at concession stands
• “Friend Finder” to locate other iPhone users in your party on zoo grounds
• zoo news and happenings
• easy access to Facebook and Twitter so you can share your zoo experience

Some of the features (not GPS) are available just by visiting http://www.zoo.org with your smartphone. The site should now serve up a mobile experience automatically.