Woodland Park Zoo

Louisville Zoo Welcomes Infant Gorilla for Fostering

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (August 20, 2024) – The Louisville Zoo has welcomed a 1 ½-month-old infant male western lowland gorilla named Abeo (ah-bay-OH) to our award-winning Gorilla Forest habitat. His name means “bringer of happiness” in Yoruba, a language spoken in West Africa. Born on June 28 at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington., the infant is the offspring of Akenji, a first-time mom. When Akenji was unable to bond with her infant and when training another foster didn’t progress fast enough, Woodland Park officials moved into quick action to find suitable care for the infant gorilla.

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Pawsitively Precious: Zoo Welcomes Snow Leopard Cubs

SEATTLE—Woodland Park Zoo is seeing spots after three snow leopard cubs were born on Memorial Day. These are the first snow leopard cubs to be born at the zoo since a single cub, Aibek, was born in 2017. 

The cubs were born to parents Marai, 7, and Aibek, 6. This is their first litter of cubs after they were paired under the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of the species.

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New Brown Bear Cubs Play In First Snowfall Of The Winter

SEATTLE—While Seattle only got a dusting of snow, Woodland Park Zoo’s new cubs—a female brown bear named Juniper and a female grizzly bear named Fern—had fun today (November 29, 2022) exploring the light winter wonderland. Juniper especially loved catching snowflakes on her little pink tongue!

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CUTENESS ALERT: Update on Zoo’s Rescued Brown Bear Cub

SEATTLE—Woodland Park Zoo’s new brown bear cub is beating the heat with an ice treat in a kiddie pool! The female cub was recently rescued from Anchorage, Alaska where she was found without her mom. The zoo, who has the expertise and facility, is providing a permanent home for her.

The cub, who remains nameless and is 6 months old, is temporarily living off public view while she settles in. She’s learning her new routine well and learning the cues from the bear keepers. She’s currently eating protein, kibble, greens, an assortment of fruits and veggies and formula from a bowl. As she grows, she’ll be transitioned off formula and to a seasonal diet. She currently weighs approximately 100 pounds.

Stay tuned for more updates on the cub at: www.zoo.org/brownbear

Credit for video and photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo


Zoo Takes in Orphaned Brown Bear Cub From Alaska

Zoo takes in orphaned brown bear cub from Alaska “Sassy” cub temporarily living in non-public area

SEATTLE—Woodland Park Zoo is beary excited to welcome an orphaned brown bear cub to its home and family. The female cub, who currently weighs 89 pounds, was found roaming alone on an air force base near Anchorage, Alaska. She traveled via Alaska Air Cargo and arrived at the zoo July 13.

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Baby Sloth Bear Cubs Sleeping In The Sunshine!

Four-month-old Woodland Park Zoo sloth bear siblings, Mudhu (muh-DOO) and Lila (LEE-lah) sleep snuggled together in the spring sunshine under the protective gaze of their mom, Kushali.

In honor of #GiveBIG, enjoy this footage of Kushali and her cubs napping in springtime bliss!

In the wild, sloth bears live in forested grasslands, where they use their superior sense of smell to find ant and termite colonies beneath the ground. Once found, they wield their three-inch long claws to break them open before slurping up the delicious insects with the powerful suction force of their mouths.

Your GiveBIG gift helps create habitats that engage all of these natural behaviors—from digging, to slurping, to climbing on Woodland Park Zoo'ss newly updated tree structure, so that mom, Kushali, can teach her cubs everything they need to know to be a well-rounded member of the sloth bear community.

If you are able, please consider making a gift today to help ensure this kind of world-class care for all the animals who call Woodland Park Zoo home! https://www.wagives.org/organization/woodland-park-zoo


It’s Earth Day And Sloth Bear Cubs Have Names

SEATTLE—Just in time for Earth Day, the names for Woodland Park Zoo’s brother and sister sloth bear cubs are in!

Drum roll, please…the name for the boy sloth bear cub is Madhu (muh-DOO), which means “sweet, honey,” and Lila (LEE-lah), which means “play, amusement.” Both names are Hindi to represent India, one of several countries where sloth bears live.

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MORE PHOTOS BELOW THE FOLD!

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Twin Sloth Bears Born On New Year’s Day!

Cubs mark the first successful birth for mom

SEATTLE—The 2022 New Year started with an auspicious beginning for Woodland Park Zoo: the birth of twin sloth bears! The cubs—a boy and a girl—were born on New Year’s Day and marked the first birth at the zoo for the year.
 
The cubs, who are unnamed at this time, were born to first-time mom Kushali (kuu-SHAW-lee) and dad Bhutan (boo-TAHN). This is the second litter of cubs for Bhutan and the first successful birth for Kushali, who was born in 2012 at Woodland Park Zoo. The last birth of sloth bears at the zoo was in 2017.
 
Sloth bears in zoos are rare, with only 34 currently living in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Every birth of sloth bears is significant for the Sloth Bear Species Survival Plan. Species Survival Plans are cooperative breeding programs across accredited zoos to help ensure healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining populations of select species or subspecies.

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Happy Birthday, Zuna!

Happy 1st birthday to Woodland Park Zoo’s littlest gorilla girl! She’s the one with the birthday, Saturday January 29, but YOU get the gift of this delightful little mashup featuring some of Zuna’s (and half-brother Kitoko’s) best moves!

Get the scoop on this little love: https://bit.ly/BirthdayGirlZuna

To learn more about WPZoo's youngsters, visit: https://www.zoo.org/growingupgorilla

To learn more about how you can help protect endangered gorillas, check out https://www.zoo.org/savinggorillas