Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
Has been raining all day here so I decided to stop by thinking it would be pretty quite (how wrong I was, so many camp kids everywhere) but anyways, as usual, a lot of the updates I saw came from both Aquariums. Since it was raining so much, a lot of the animals, specifically in the Asian Forest Sanctuary, plus the Arctic Foxes and Red Wolves, weren't out today. I also did come across a video that did show the Wrinkled Hornbill out with the Gibbons a few weeks ago, so it still does go on exhibit time to time it seems.
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Has the zoo indicated what they plan to do with the former elephant space? Does it look likely to just sit vacant for the foreseeable future?
 
DavidBrown said:
Has the zoo indicated what they plan to do with the former elephant space? Does it look likely to just sit vacant for the foreseeable future?
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Nothing so far that I'm aware of, the elephant space still has that sign up that just says "were deep in the planning process of what species will move into this space". I'd imagine it'll sit vacant for a while; hopefully, they give it a refresh before moving whatever species they choose goes in
The former axolotl exhibit is also still empty, not sure what they're doing with that since it's been about a year I think since blocking it off.

Also, I did upload a new species list, however I'm waiting for confirmation on a few fish ID's of the new species that have gone on exhibit
 
I visited Point Defiance Zoo on Saturday, and it was my 12th visit all-time (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 x 3, 2011 x2, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2025), but my first in 6 years.

It's an amazing zoo for rarities, with Polar Bears difficult to find these days, plus Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Sea Otters, Pacific Walruses, Muskox, Red Wolves, Clouded Leopards and a Lowland Anoa. Even the penguins (Magellanic) are a rare species that I've seen in less than a dozen zoos.

I still like the Asian Forest Sanctuary complex, with its 6 exhibits (including the 'dayroom') of rotating animals, with occasional switches of species throughout the day. It's not perfect, as some of the enclosures don't offer up much in the way of enrichment items for certain species, but I love the idea of rotating the species through the different yards. The Clouded Leopard exhibit, even with the glare on the windows, is brilliant for the cats and it's a densely planted masterpiece.

Rocky Shores is terrific, with Pacific Walruses, California Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, Sea Otters and the lovely Seabird Aviary all very nice indeed. Still not having underwater viewing for the walruses is annoying, as that species rarely comes onto land, but it's for the benefit of the animals according to a couple of signs. The windows are all boarded up.

The small Polar Bear and Arctic Fox exhibits in the Arctic Tundra area are outdated, but seeing Muskox in their meadow (and this is the only AZA zoo with the species) is a delight. The nearby Red Wolf Woods set of two exhibits is very well done and highlights an important conservation focus of the zoo.

The Kids' Zone is looking a tiny bit rundown these days, with a couple of empty exhibits, no more wallabies and a few signs needing to be spruced up, but overall, it's an above average area that focuses on younger children. It's not just for kids either, as there's circa 25 species here and all in terrariums except for the Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemurs and Meerkats.

That leaves the two aquariums, with the newly named Tropical Reef Aquarium looking almost identical to how it did when I was last at the zoo 6 years ago, even though it had a $7 million renovation. I'm not sure I would have noticed any differences! Admittedly, most of the work was done on the infrastructure of the tanks behind the scenes. The $52 million Pacific Seas Aquarium that opened in 2018 has two really large tanks called Baja Bay and Northwest Waters, but apart from those two the rest of the building is a little sparse, with many smaller exhibits and a lot of concrete. There are maybe 19 tanks in total, and it was very busy, so it was a struggle to get photos like I did on my previous visit in 2019.

Although I had a really enjoyable few hours, and my 4 kids got to experience the zoo for the first time, the loss of species such as Asian Elephant, Reindeer, Indian Crested Porcupine, Parma Wallaby, the walk-through Budgie aviary, the trio of Bird of Prey aviaries near the Muskox, plus the Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks and Japanese Spider Crabs in the Pacific Seas Aquarium all have not been adequately replaced. Some of those animals and exhibits needed to be removed, but there's been zero additions. There is a sense that Point Defiance Zoo has slightly regressed. The last big bond vote was in 2014, and all of those projects have now been completed. What's next for the zoo? I'm curious to find out and rather than stick an Indian Rhino or two into the empty elephant yard, it would be terrific if the zoo revamped that entire area altogether with a half-dozen different Asian species instead.
 
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New Sumatran tiger debuts September 6:

Point Defiance Zoo Welcomes Mawar, a Rare Sumatran Tiger – The Suburban Times

This Saturday, Sept. 6, Mawar, a 6-year-old female Sumatran tiger whose name means “rose” in Indonesian, will make her public debut in the zoo’s Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Born January 17, 2019, at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Mawar recently completed a mandatory quarantine period at Memphis Zoo before traveling with keepers on a FedEx plane to Washington.
 
Did a quick walkaround this morning, and the Zoo's power actually went out while I was there so all of the digital signs went out and other electrical stuff wasn't working (all the tanks are on generators/backup power so the animals were fine). It's also really hot today so a lot of the animals weren't outside, but there is a surprising amount of construction going on at the Zoo.

Asian Forest Sanctuary
  • Probably the most exciting is they're doing construction work on the former Asian Elephant habitat. There was an excavator inside towards the back, and various rope and electrical wire scattered throughout. The waterfall was also running which I think it's been off for a while so that was interesting to see. It looks like they might be close to determining what species will takeover this space.
  • On a sidenote, I did see the Wrinkled Hornbill for the first time (I think ever, I don't believe I've seen it before) which was really exciting. I still have no idea on what her exhibit schedule is like since she gets to choose when to go out.
Kid'z Zone
  • The former Axolotl tank is now uncovered and while still unsigned, I believe will hold axolotls again since there's fake plants and it looks similar to the old design
Tropical Reef Aquarium
  • The Scopas Tang (Zebrasoma scopas) is now in the main tank in the "Coral Reefs Up-close" area, it's been signed since the opening but was just recently added. Still no Lemonpeel Angelfish that is also signed.
Pacific Seas Aquarium
  • There is now a Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the "Northwest Waters" tank, it was hard to get a photo since it was mainly swimming at the top but there's 1 pretty large individual in here now.
  • In one of the tanks (houses the Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers most notably), there is now; a juvenile Whitespotted Greenling (Hexagrammos stelleri), Slime Stars (Pteraster tesselatus), and a Clown Dorid Nudibranch (Triopha catalinae) (though this one is probably a hitchiker from the water system). Also tons of sponges were added throughout the various tanks.
 
 
Took a quick visit today while we have a break from this heavy rain we've been getting the last few days (and in the near future). There are a lot of changes/additions within the 2 Aquariums as usual, but nothing really going on with the other areas of the Zoo. Was hoping to visit Woodland Park today but was on a time crunch and PDZA is closer so the WPZ species list will be later in the week, I'll post a new one for PDZA soon today as well.

Tropical Reef Aquarium
  • A Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa) and a Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini) were added to the 'Shallow Mangrove Lagoon' tank right next to the Touch Pool
Lots of new species were added to the main Reef Tank in the "Coral Reefs Close-up" exhibit, these include:
  • Lemonpeel Angelfish (Centropyge flavissima)
  • Purple Queen Anthias (females) (Pseudanthias tuka)
  • Foxface Rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus)
  • Magnificent Foxface Rabbitfish (Siganus magnificus)
  • Blue Throat Triggerfish (male) (Xanthichthys auromarginatus)
  • Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus)
  • Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidatus)
  • Bristle-tail Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)
  • Sixline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
  • Goldhead Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea strigata)
  • and also what looked like more Red Firefishes
A lot more than I was thinking, most of these additions have some sort of utility purpose with either eating algae or eating pests since the tank is in that stage of it's life. The only species missing now from the original lineup they planned are the Lineatus Fairy Wrasse and Mandarin Dragonet which will hopefully be added in a few months. The Lemonpeel Angelfish was extremely skiddish and hides in the back rockwork, the only reason I saw it was because the color is too bright and iconic to mistake it.

Pacific Seas Aquarium
  • Evidently the Aquarium wasn't able to get any new Japanese Spider Crabs for some reason, as the tank (which held the largest Sunflower Sea Stars for a couple months most recently), is now being renovated to be the new Pacific Giant Octopus tank which is actually really nice since I always thought PDZA's GPO Tank was a little on the smaller side.
  • Sucks though since they had some sick Japanese species that are rarely displayed in the US (The Codlings and the Hilgendorf's Saucods specifically, along with the Longspine Snipefishes but those aren't as rare) that we won't see anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if they get shipped off to Shedd for their upcoming 'Whalefall' exhibit since they already have Snipefish and Hilgendorf's Saucods in collection. Going to miss these species for sure.
With that said, the former GPO Tank is now being reworked to be "Puget Sound Wonders", which I don't think is based off any specific site in Washington, it just showcases a variety of different animals. Currently signed were:
  • Puget Sound King Crab, Tubesnouts, Three-spined Sticklebacks, Red Sea Urchins, Gumboot Chitons, Cloud Sponges (fake since they're just replicas, but the sign does emphasize this). However, only the Sea Urchins and Chitons are actually in the tank at the moment as it still looks like they're adding more decor. Along with some California Sea Cucumbers and a random Monterey Sea Lemon Nudibranch that must've come in through the water system. Considering the size of the tank, I'm hopeful they manage to get an adult Puget Sound King Crab somehow since usually only juveniles are allowed to be collected.
I'm not sure if this is the season for collecting weird Invertebrates (ironic since it's around Halloween) but PDZA did follow through with weird crab additions like Seattle, though different species as there appears to be a Longhorn Decorator Crab (Chorilia longipes) (I'm 90% sure this is what it is, however it was at the bottom of the tank + wearing a sponge as a hat which blocked most of it's visible features but the arms and legs look pretty similar) and a Stout Coastal Shrimp (Heptacarpus brevirostris) in the "Puget Sound Colors" Tank.

Arctic Tundra
  • All of the Seabirds were off-exhibit for "exhibit maintenance" which hopefully should be just a today thing only
 
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WOW, talk about unexpected: The Zoo announced they've acquired a Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma) named 'Fender' from the Georgia Aquarium who will make his public debut tomorrow in the Tropical Reef Aquarium. He was a part of the group of juveniles that were acquired from Taiwan a few years back in a fishing incident rescue. (Which fun fact means he is one of the brothers of "Rhyna", the Bowmouth at Seattle)
Out of all Aquariums to branch out and exhibit the species, PDZA was definitely not on my list. As if they already didn't have the best Elasmobranch collection in the PNW region before, this definitely solidifies it. I wonder how this came to fruition, especially since at this point, the "Outer Reef" in the Tropical Reef Aquarium definitely has to be at max capacity in terms of Elasmobranchs as this means the tank now has:
  • 1 Bowmouth Guitarfish (not fully grown)
  • 5 Blacktip Reef Sharks
  • 3 Grey Reef Sharks
  • 2 Whitetip Reef Sharks
  • 1 Tasseled Wobbegong
  • 3 Zebra Sharks
  • 1 Australian Whipray (not fully grown)
For a 240,000 Gallon Tank, it does seem like quite a lot. I thought one of the main reasons for moving the Nurse Sharks out was to free up some space. Especially since "Fender" isn't even at his max size yet. This makes me think "Fender" will be transferred in the future since the tank will probably be too small, but also does make me wonder if some of the reef sharks will be moved as well like I have been speculating. Well I'm not complaining since having another Bowmouth in the region is super, super cool. Can't wait to see him, might have to pay a quick visit tomorrow.

Also in some other news from a bit ago, the Zoo acquired a Southern Tamandua named "Pippa" from an unspecified AZA facility to pair with "Gonzo", their existing Southern Tamandua as apart of the SSP. She'll be joining shows with Gonzo at the Wonders of Wildlife Theatre, but the ultimate goal is for them to breed.
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
WOW, talk about unexpected: The Zoo announced they've acquired a Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma) named 'Fender' from the Georgia Aquarium who will make his public debut tomorrow in the Tropical Reef Aquarium. He was a part of the group of juveniles that were acquired from Taiwan a few years back in a fishing incident rescue. (Which fun fact means he is one of the brothers of "Rhyna", the Bowmouth at Seattle)
Out of all Aquariums to branch out and exhibit the species, PDZA was definitely not on my list. As if they already didn't have the best Elasmobranch collection in the PNW region before, this definitely solidifies it. I wonder how this came to fruition, especially since at this point, the "Outer Reef" in the Tropical Reef Aquarium definitely has to be at max capacity in terms of Elasmobranchs as this means the tank now has:
  • 1 Bowmouth Guitarfish (not fully grown)
  • 5 Blacktip Reef Sharks
  • 3 Grey Reef Sharks
  • 2 Whitetip Reef Sharks
  • 1 Tasseled Wobbegong
  • 3 Zebra Sharks
  • 1 Australian Whipray (not fully grown)
For a 240,000 Gallon Tank, it does seem like quite a lot. I thought one of the main reasons for moving the Nurse Sharks out was to free up some space. Especially since "Fender" isn't even at his max size yet. This makes me think "Fender" will be transferred in the future since the tank will probably be too small, but also does make me wonder if some of the reef sharks will be moved as well like I have been speculating. Well I'm not complaining since having another Bowmouth in the region is super, super cool. Can't wait to see him, might have to pay a quick visit tomorrow.
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That’s amazing news! I’m glad Fender is doing well and I will also definitely have to make the trip up soon. 240,000 gallons for that amount of elasmos is not exactly a ton, but it may be possible to make it work. The ABQ BioPark Aquarium has exhibited more sharks, and larger species, in just a 285,000 gallon exhibit. I would probably recommend that they send some of their sharks to Seattle to fill out The Reef more, perhaps at least one of each of the gray reefs and blacktip reefs, but it could be doable as is. The nurse sharks, as far as we know, are the wrong variety for the Pacific Seas Aquarium, so for the sake of accuracy I’d eventually want to see them back in the Tropical side or otherwise transferred so more proper species could come in. But that’s just me lol.
 
Local_Shark said:
That’s amazing news! I’m glad Fender is doing well and I will also definitely have to make the trip up soon. 240,000 gallons for that amount of elasmos is not exactly a ton, but it may be possible to make it work. The ABQ BioPark Aquarium has exhibited more sharks, and larger species, in just a 285,000 gallon exhibit. I would probably recommend that they send some of their sharks to Seattle to fill out The Reef more, perhaps at least one of each of the gray reefs and blacktip reefs, but it could be doable as is. The nurse sharks, as far as we know, are the wrong variety for the Pacific Seas Aquarium, so for the sake of accuracy I’d eventually want to see them back in the Tropical side or otherwise transferred so more proper species could come in. But that’s just me lol.
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Yeah I would assume/hope it's the Blacktips since there will already be 2 (counting the one not on exhibit yet) at Seattle so moving another 1 or 2 wouldn't be a bad idea for both parties. I do wonder why PDZA of all Zoos/Aquariums was the one to pursue having a Bowmouth. It just doesn't seem to align with the rest of what they were doing, but I'm still excited to see him soon.
I honestly wouldn't doubt them getting some real Pacific Nurse Sharks honestly, especially with what we've seen them be able to get over the past year for being a Zoo aquarium.., hopefully that is in the plans for accuracy like you said and because they are a rare species.
 
I don't think the zoo announced it, but I noticed it on a zookeeper's instagram that the zoo acquired a female tamandua. Her name is Pippa and I believe she was the last year's* offspring from the Memphis Zoo. I would imagine she will breed with their male tamandua, Gonzo.

*edited from "latest" since I read on here that the Memphis zoo just had a tamandua pup born.
 
Got to see Fender this past Friday, however I somehow forgot my Camera so I didn't spend as much time at the Zoo. Not really much to update besides:

Tropical Reef Aquarium
  • There were 12 or 13 juvenile Orbicular Batfish in the "Mangrove Shallow Lagoon", so they still have their dead leaf camouflage color scheme which is pretty neat. I wouldn't be surprised if the Zoo is breeding them since they now have various life stages throughout each exhibit in the TRA.
  • Seems obvious but I caught a bit of the early morning feeding and saw the Australian Whipray up close again, the Zoo already confirmed her origin so she is a true Himantura australis, but it was still nice to get an upclose pic of her pattern
Pacific Seas Aquarium

  • Tubesnouts, Three-spined Sticklebacks, Red Sea Urchins, and Gumboot Chitons were added to the "Puget Sound Wonders" tank, still no Puget Sound King Crab and the new GPO Tank is still under construction
  • There appears to be a new Northern Spearnose Poacher on exhibit since i didn't see one the last 2 times and I'm pretty sure they can't burrow in the sand so this one is most likely new.
  • I got to see the Big Skate again, I didn't see it the last time so it was either buried or off-exhibit (though it appears they're only down to 1 Big Skate now, not sure if I mentioned that before)
  • Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
    as there appears to be a Longhorn Decorator Crab (Chorilia longipes) (I'm 90% sure this is what it is, however it was at the bottom of the tank + wearing a sponge as a hat which blocked most of it's visible features but the arms and legs look pretty similar)
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    I got to get an upclose look and it's definitely some species of Hermit Crab, though I'm still working on an ID since I've never seen a Hermit Crab with a sponge as its shell / growing over its shell
 
Asian Forest Sanctuary
  • All signage for their Indian Crested Porcupine has been removed from all of the enclosures throughout the area, which doesn't seem to be a good sign, unfortunately. I didn't get a chance to ask anyone since it looks like the Zoo hasn't mentioned anything about "Whitie", but she was one of the oldest in human care at 26 years old so hopefully she's doing okay and is just retired behind the scenes now.
  • All viewing and paths for the former Asian Elephant exhibit are now blocked off, and they planted more foliage in the one "visible" viewing area. Which is odd since they did add christmas light displays in the exhibit for "Zoolights", so this must be a temporary thing or a sudden change in terms of construction (hopefully the latter since they'd be making progress).
Tropical Reef Aquarium
  • There is now a Coral Grouper (Cephalopholis miniata) in "The Lagoon", and their Scrawled Filefish who has been missing on my last few visits, was confirmed to have undergone cataract surgery they posted on their socials so he's been behind the scenes recovering.
Pacific Seas Aquarium
  • The Puget Sound King Crab was added to the Puget Sound Wonders" Tank, and thankfully as I was hoping, is a pretty big individual. Hopefully, it's a permanent resident since most Aquariums only exhibit the juveniles before releasing them back into the wild. So, considering adults are able to be caught for food after a certain size, hopefully this one will be here for a while.
 
 
As part of an international conservation program, seven zebra shark eggs that were laid at the Zoo were flown to Indonesia where they ultimately hatched. The shark pups (including the focus of the article “Jelly”) will be housed in a controlled area until they’re mature enough, before being released in a protected ocean area.

Meet Jelly, the newest zebra shark hatchling produced at Point Defiance Zoo
 
The Zoo announced the debut of a new female Siamang named Senya, who is 6 years old and coming from an unspecified AZA facility. She is here to be paired with Remy, since the loss of Dudlee a few months. They note it's the Zoo's first primate SSP move in over 20 years so this is pretty significant, she should be out on public exhibit now
Zoo welcomes new siamang named Senya - Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
 
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