Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo News 2024

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Nile Hippo Expert said:
A spectacled owl named Brisby hatched on June 26th.
Woodland Park Zoo
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Nice to see he's got a name now, the last time I was at the Zoo he was just named "Owlet" lol.
The easiest way to spot him is by looking at the Top Right of enclosure in the Aviary, when I saw him he was sleeping but it sounds like that's his normal hang out spot anyways. DSC08129.jpg
 

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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
I'll try and make it for the opening and see what species are on exhibit
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The Zoo announced these following species to be apart of the opening on the exhibit info page:
  • Quince Monitor (Varanus melinus)
  • Asian Forest Tortise (Manouria emys)
  • Prehensile-tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata)
  • Solomon Island Leaf Frogs (Cornufer guentheri)
  • Black Tree Monitor (Varanus beccarii)
  • Timor Python (Malayopython timoriensis)
  • Philippine Sailfin Lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus)
I'm a little sad to see the Rhinoceros Rat Snake not make the initial roster since it sounded like that was going to be a poster child species for the exhibit initially. But these other species are pretty nice.

The Komodo Dragon area is also closed until the 14th while they finish up the final touches for that area as well.
 
Woodland Park Zoo states that avian flu has killed one of their red-breasted geese. The animal lived in an off-display behind-the-scenes exhibit and guests did not have contact with the infected bird. The rest of the goose flock will be quarantined for at least four months.

The zoo will take other health and safety precautions to limit the potential exposure and spread of avian flu, including temporary closing down their walk-through aviaries.

Confirmed avian flu case at Woodland Park Zoo means immediate safety precautions are in effect to protect our birds
 
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I just wrapped up my visit for today, starting off with the Reptile Realm since that just opened:
  • The Solomon Island Leaf Frogs and Black Monitor aren't on display yet. Their signage is marked with "Coming Soon!".
  • The Prehensile-tailed Skinks were no shows unfortunately. And it looks like there might be 2 of them since 1 is a co-hab with the Leaf Frogs and the other is a co-hab with the Black Monitor.
  • I counted 1 Quince Monitor, 1 Philippine Sailfin Lizard, 1 Timor Python, and 5 Asian Forest Tortises.
  • The Signage is really well done, a lot of it stresses conservation and also some fun facts.
  • The enclosures are also really, really well done (coming from a Non-Herp person at least). I think they all have exclusively live tropical plants, the Pitcher Plants in the Leaf Frog enclosure were cool to see.
  • The Komodo Dragons are no longer their own exhibit, as they're technically merged with the Reptile Realm now, although they're the animal associated with Reptile Realm on the map.
Overall, i really like it. They seperated the smallest enclosure that I think used to house Egyptian Tortises to make the Solomon Island Leaf Frogs, Prehensile-tailed Skink, and Black Monitor enclosures. The spaces are really, really big compared to the animals size (makes sense since these used to house Flying Foxes, Meerkats, etc) so they do look a little empty but it's really emersive and well done.
The Philippine Sailfin Lizard enclosure surprised me the most since it has a running waterfall feature. I'm not sure how often the species are going to rotate, but you can get a good idea of future species based on how each enclosure is setup.

Other news:
  • The Komodo Dragon renovation was basically a lot of new signage and conservation information. Their enclosures did get a lot of new foliage which is nice to see.
  • I'm not exactly sure if it's related to the Avian Flu since there was no sign (I'd imagine so though), but the Steller's Sea Eagle building was closed as well. Most likely because you are in some sort of open air contact with the birds via the mesh netting.
  • The Zoo did tease 1 Reptile species that will (hopefully) make it's debut in the Forest Trailhead: the Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus). This is on the left hand side of the Komodo Dragon exhibit.
  • (Tinfoil Hat Theory) The Wild Lanterns stuff is setup around the Zoo, and right outside the Reptile Realm is a giant Timor Python, but also a couple of Resinger's Tree Monitors (
    Varanus reisingeri) which seemed oddly specific to me species wise so maybe that'll be a future exhibited species.
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Woodland Park Zoo has released its 2025 Annual Plan and within the 8-page document it is revealed that there will be some renovations to the Gray Wolf and Malayan Tapir exhibits, design work will be done for the Giraffe facilities, construction will be completed on 2026's Forest Trailhead, there will be a long-term reimagining of the Family Farm area, and a brand-new Lorikeet Aviary will open in May 2026.

Here's the full document:

https://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=3322
 
Other 2024 News Worth Mentioning:
On August 11th, the zoo announced they raised and released 40 western pond turtles back into the wild.

16K views · 254 reactions | Western pond turtles graduate | Tiny turtle cheers for our Head Start class of 2024! Around 40 juvenile turtles reached the sweet spot of weighing at least 2 ounces—too big to fit in... | By Woodland Park Zoo | Facebook

On June 29th, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred (0.2) red-breasted geese to the Tracy Aviary in Utah*.

On October 3rd, it was announced that the zoo transferred (3.0) red-breasted geese to the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium in Missouri.

Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

On October 15th, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred a (1.0) Sulawesi babirusa to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in California**.

On November 7th, it was reported that zoo officials were asking for the public's help in trying to identify a man after he assaulted one of the facility's domestic cows repeatedly on October 6th.

Woodland Park Zoo seeks ID of animal cruelty suspect
Suspect ID sought in Woodland Park Zoo animal cruelty case

Komodo Dragon said:
Woodland Park Zoo states that avian flu has killed one of their red-breasted geese. The animal lived in an off-display behind-the-scenes exhibit and guests did not have contact with the infected bird. The rest of the goose flock will be quarantined for at least four months.

The zoo will take other health and safety precautions to limit the potential exposure and spread of avian flu, including temporary closing down their walk-through aviaries.

Confirmed avian flu case at Woodland Park Zoo means immediate safety precautions are in effect to protect our birds
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On November 26th, the zoo announced that due to the increased risk of avian influenza, the zoo's flamingos and crane species were moved to exhibits with protective covering. The zoo also announced that the red-breasted goose that originally passed was a (1.0) named Husky Marching Band (HMB), that another red-breasted goose named Ketchup passed away around the same time also due to avian influenza, and that a further 4 geese tested positive.

Woodland Park Zoo
New proactive, preventative measures to protect zoo birds from HPAI

* Information given by @zoocentral in the Tracy Aviary News thread (Page 4 Post #61).
** Information given by @FrederickA in the Fresno Chaffe Zoo News 2024 thread (Page 3 Post #57).
 
snowleopard said:
and a brand-new Lorikeet Aviary will open in May 2026.
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I couldn't tell from the text if they're planning on building a new exhibit or repurposing an old exhibit, but there is if I remember correctly this old walk-in aviary that's already in Australasia right next to the birds that's been closed for I don't even remember how long at this point. If they were to just polish it up a bit, I think that'd make a pretty good space for the Lorikeets especially since it's already in the Australian area of the Zoo.
I wonder if PDZA will follow with the Lorikeet idea since their Budgie walk-in aviary has been closed for a couple months due to the Budgie's old age. I don't think they've said what they'll do with the space but it'd seems like a decent fit.
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
I couldn't tell from the text if they're planning on building a new exhibit or repurposing an old exhibit, but there is if I remember correctly this old walk-in aviary that's already in Australasia right next to the birds that's been closed for I don't even remember how long at this point. If they were to just polish it up a bit, I think that'd make a pretty good space for the Lorikeets especially since it's already in the Australian area of the Zoo.
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In that 2025 Annual Plan document, under the heading "Exceptional Animal Care", it appears that the Lorikeet Aviary will be where the contact yard currently is in the Family Farm zone.
 
snowleopard said:
Woodland Park Zoo has hired a new Senior Director of Animal Care (Dr. Luis Neves) and he comes to Seattle after spending 14 years working with Mandai Wildlife Group.

https://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=3333
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Any word on what the new director has set up to do with WPZ? He comes with a steady track record of making the Mandai collection (and bird collection in particular) great again, and given how small the collection is at WPZ there might be some great things happening in the future.

I've seen first-hand the evolution of the Singapore collections under his direction and how they seem to now be sliding back since he was never replaced. Just curious to see what happens in what is already one of the best zoos in the US.
 
JJSG said:
Any word on what the new director has set up to do with WPZ? He comes with a steady track record of making the Mandai collection (and bird collection in particular) great again, and given how small the collection is at WPZ there might be some great things happening in the future.

I've seen first-hand the evolution of the Singapore collections under his direction and how they seem to now be sliding back since he was never replaced. Just curious to see what happens in what is already one of the best zoos in the US.
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There haven't been any announcements of new directions specific to the new animal manager. The WPZ has long had a first rate bird collection and seems to want to gather and show more reptiles, to enhance the public's appreciation of these often less charismatic species.
There are lots of renovations and new construction underway. There is some re-envisioning of the wolf space, planning for upgrades in the Savanna, the reorientation of the Family Farm area, and the showcase for Tree Kangaroos in the new Forests for All exhibit, which also will finally give the Keas good flying space.
 
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