Are the rhinos permanent, because I heard somewhere that they were part of a new exhibit that would replace Elephant Forest????
The community has voted to name one of Woodland Park Zoo’s red panda cubs Zeya (ZAY-uh), meaning success in Burmese. The second red panda cub has been named Ila (EE-la), meaning earth in Sanskrit.
Here is a point-by-point, mini-rant about Woodland Park Zoo, a facility that I've been visiting at least 3 times per year for the past 25 years: - the closure of the small but superb Nocturnal House ('Night Exhibit') in 2010, due to the economic recession, was a cost-cutting measure that meant the loss of one of the highlights of the facility. In 2016 the zoo issued a press release that a newly revamped Nocturnal House would reopen in 2018, although obviously that time period has come and gone with no further information released to the general public. - the closure of the Reptile House ('Day Exhibit') in December 2016 was due to a fire that broke out in the building, but more than two years later the building is still fenced off and seemingly closed for good. When will it reopen? Who knows? - The zoo announced that their remaining two Asian Elephants would depart the collection in 2014, a sad loss for many as obtaining additional elephants was almost impossible and the cost to expand the exhibit prohibitive. The enclosure sat empty for a couple of years before the welcome addition of two young, male Greater One-horned Rhinos. The zoo said that the rhinos were going to be a temporary addition to the zoo but there has been nothing forthcoming on whether having rhinos is now temporary or permanent. - The zoo's great legacy was the creation of wonderful, ground-breaking animal habitats. The legendary Jones & Jones Master Plan from the 1970s is iconic, then there was the building of the famous Lowland Gorilla exhibit and African Savanna in the late 1970s. Fast-forward to the early 1990s and from 1992 to 2003 was what I've called the 'golden era' for the zoo. Tropical Rain Forest, Animal Health Complex, Northern Trail, Family Farm, Temperate Forest, Trail of Vines, Bug World and Jaguar Cove completely reinvented what a great zoo looks like and Woodland Park was easily one of the best in the nation. A trio of kid-friendly attractions were added in 2005 and 2006 (Willawong Station, Zoomazium, Historic Carousel) and Flamingos (2008), Humboldt Penguins (2009 - a world-class habitat) and a new West Entrance in 2010 kept the zoo looking great. Anyone visiting in 2010 would have ranked Woodland Park as one of the best zoos in the country. The problem has been the past 9 years, with the Banyan Wilds complex underwhelming and not much else has been added. Within Banyan Wilds is a decent otter exhibit, a small aviary, a Malayan Tiger exhibit with awkward viewing and very limited views of tigers on all of my visits, and the Sloth Bear revamp has made the viewing area worse than what it was for almost 65 years. A seasonal butterfly display and a mild overhaul of the raptor program are nothing to set the heart racing, and this year will see no new additions of any kind for the first time in at least 15 years. Yikes! - Even relatively minor items are disappointing, such as the original rustic fencing around the Common Warthog exhibit being replaced by green steel poles that are a tad unsightly. The display of a Golden Orb Weaver Spider in Bug World, famous for not having any glass on the open-fronted exhibit, is now boarded up after being there for more than 20 years. A couple of the push-button, kid-friendly machines in the Family Farm area only work sporadically. As of a couple of months ago, the zoo has a new food service company and a large chunk of the menu items have been removed. My best estimate is that 50% of all the menu offerings have been eliminated, leaving pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers and chicken strips as the main choices. I was told that the wait times on specialty items was so long that the new plan has been to eliminate everything but the basics but without a doubt the menu has been 'dumbed down'. Whether it has been the loss of elephants, the Reptile House or the Nocturnal House (those three combined probably knock an hour off of a typical zoo visit from a decade ago), or the many small but vital decisions that have been made that have been slightly detrimental to the zoo, it seems as if Woodland Park is set in a state of inertia. The long-proposed Asian Highlands loop to complement the Northern Trail dead-end has been rumoured for 25 years and still nothing has been accomplished. The Nocturnal House and Reptile House have shown no sign of life, and the proposed redevelopment of the Tropical Asia zone to possibly include deer mixed with the rhinos, gibbons and other animals hasn't gotten off the ground. The zoo released a 'Strategic Plan: 2018-2022' that discusses animal welfare, conservation and the overall visitor experience but there is absolutely no mention of any major animal exhibits and the document is rather bland and generic. My best guess is that the zoo, which has ebbed and flowed throughout history with spurts of activity that were followed by years of inertia, is biding its time before proposing some kind of public zoo bond to rejuvenate the facility. Many zoos have bonds granted via an eager public, such as Oregon Zoo's $125 million bond that was issued in 2008, or Fresno Chaffee Zoo's 'Measure Z' which has generated more than $110 million in a decade. Minutes away from Woodland Park Zoo is Seattle Aquarium, which is actively pursing a variety of funding options for its $130 million Ocean Pavilion complex. It's time for the zoo to make some big decisions regarding its future as Woodland Park has become stagnant. Knowing that there are some members of the Board of Directors who occasionally peruse ZooChat, I'm hoping that this message reaches at least one of them.
A new elk has been transported to the woodland park zoo Buttons the Elk Transported to Woodland Park Zoo - NewsRadio 560 KPQ
4 river otter pups were born at the zoo. https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlene...-river-otter-pups-Seattle-babies-13720721.php
The red panda cubs are moving out. Zeya is going to the NEW Zoo, while Ila is off to Toronto. Goodbye, red pandas: Cubs prepare to leave Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo
Olivia, a giraffe is on birth watch. Woodland Park Zoo Blog: Birth watch begins for pregnant giraffe Olivia!
Both of the zoo's Lowland Gorilla exhibits will be closed for a duration of several weeks in order for the zoo to make some alterations to the habitats. The exciting news is that for the first time EVER the two groups of gorillas (4 apes in each group) will be able to rotate and be involved in a 'time-share basis' between the exhibits. https://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=2498
Olivia the giraffe gave birth to a male calf. https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Woodland-Park-Zoo-gets-a-new-baby-13814896.php
The giraffe calf was given special therapeutic shoes due to leg abnormalities. Woodland Park Zoo's newest baby giraffe gets therapeutic shoes
Hasani no longer needs the therapeutic shoes. https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlene...ttle-Woodland-Park-Zoo-shoe-free-13914095.php
Adia the Lioness has died. (This was a week ago or so, but it wasn't posted) https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlene...-Park-Zoo-lioness-dies-surgery-9-13881470.php
The zoo hatched its first white-naped crane chicks. 2 white-naped crane chicks born at Woodland Park -- a first in the Seattle zoo's 119-year history
