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Coordinates: 47°40′06″N 122°20′59″W / 47.66834°N 122.34984°W / 47.66834; -122.34984
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|num_animals=1,098 <ref name="zoo/about">{{cite web |url=http://www.zoo.org/zoo_info/about.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2006-10-23 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112112121/http://www.zoo.org/zoo_info/about.html |archivedate=November 12, 2006 |df= }} retrieved October 22, 2006</ref>
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Revision as of 16:26, 4 September 2017

Woodland Park Zoo
Map
47°40′06″N 122°20′59″W / 47.66834°N 122.34984°W / 47.66834; -122.34984
Date opened1898
LocationWoodland Park, Seattle, Washington, USA
Land area92 acres (37 ha)
No. of animals1,098 [1]
No. of species300 [1]
MembershipsAZA[2]
Major exhibitsTrail of Vines, Northern Trail, Tropical Rain Forest, Banyan Wilds, African Savanna
Websitewww.zoo.org
Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), Tropical Rain Forest, Woodland Park Zoo

Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden located in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

History

Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer. Six years after Phinney's death, on December 28, 1899, Phinney's wife sold the 188-acre (76 ha) Woodland Park to the city for $5,000 in cash and the assumption of a $95,000 mortgage. The sum was so large that the Seattle mayor (W. D. Wood) vetoed the acquisition, only to be later overruled by the city council. In 1902, the Olmsted Brothers firm of Boston was hired to design the city's parks, including Woodland Park, and the next year the collection of the private Leschi Park menagerie was moved to Phinney Ridge.

As of the summer of 2010, the zoo includes 92 acres (37 ha) of exhibits and public spaces. It is open to the public daily,[3] and received 1.05 million visitors in 2006. Its collection includes:

  • 1,090 animal specimens
  • 300 animal species
  • 35 endangered and 5 threatened animal species
  • 7,000 trees
  • 50,000+ shrubs and herbs
  • 1,000+ plant species
  • A Sensory garden[4]

Exhibits

Woodland Park Zoo is a recipient of multiple Best National Exhibit awards from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and ranks second to the Bronx Zoo in New York City for the number received.[5] Woodland Park Zoo created what is generally considered the world's first immersion exhibit, a gorilla habitat, which opened in the late 1970s under the direction of zoo architect David Hancocks.[6] Other exhibits include:

The Zoomazium play area for kids
Brown bear in Northern Trail area
Woodland Park Zoo Carousel
  • The zoo also has a hand-carved carousel, originally built for the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. In the 1970s, the carousel was moved to Santa Clara, California, where it operated into the 1990s. It was donated to Woodland Park Zoo by the Alleniana Foundation, and opened May 1, 2007 in a new pavilion on the zoo's North Meadow.
  • In May 2009, the Woodland Park Zoo opened a new 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) Humboldt penguin exhibit. The outdoor enclosure is designed to recreate the penguin's native habitat in Peru, and features cliffs and pools. The exhibit is also designed to use green energy, such as geothermal power.[10]

Community engagement

Woodland Park Zoo has been an active member of environmental and ecological conservation efforts across the US. Besides operating its own educational programs for school children, the park also cooperates with many of the higher education institutions within state, such as the University of Washington. On January 5, 2010, the zoo announced that due to the "difficult economy," it would be closing its Night Exhibit.[11][12]

Notable animals

Bobo's successors live in a modern landscaped enclosure with glass panels that allow visitors to get up close without disturbing the gorillas.

From 1953 to 1968, Woodland Park Zoo was home to Bobo, a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla, the same species as the gorillas currently living at the zoo). Bobo was acquired from the Lowman family of Anacortes, Washington, who had purchased the gorilla as an infant from a hunter in Columbus, Ohio in 1951 and had raised him in their family home in Anacortes. Bobo drew many visitors to the zoo and was one of Seattle's main attractions in the years preceding the construction of Seattle Center and the expansion of major-league professional sports into the city; his popularity is credited with helping the zoo obtain funding to build a new primate house.

Anthropologist Dawn Prince-Hughes spent many years working at Woodland Park Zoo and observing the western lowland gorillas there, which she wrote about in her book Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism.[13]

Two lionesses named Busela (Seyla) and Nobuhle (Nabu) transferred from this zoo to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah to breed with the Montgomery Zoo's two male lions, Baron and Vulcan.[14] On February 24, 2016, Nabu gave birth to two males, Brutus and Titus, and a female, Calliope. Baron fathered the three cubs.[citation needed]

Other displays

Two 6"/30 caliber guns from USS Concord (PG-3) are displayed near the zoo.

References

  1. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) retrieved October 22, 2006
  2. ^ "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ http://www.zoo.org/visit
  4. ^ http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/Projects/WoodlandParkSensoryGardne/agenda_20150910.pdf
  5. ^ "Exhibit Awards", Association of Zoos & Aquariums, 2014-10-12
  6. ^ Schaul, Jordan Carlton (2012-03-13), "A Critical Look at the Future of Zoos–An Interview with David Hancocks", National Geographic
  7. ^ [1], Woodland Park Zoo, Accessed 2015-05-12
  8. ^ [2], Woodland Park Zoo, Accessed 2015-04-17
  9. ^ "Meerkats returning to Woodland Park Zoo". The Seattle Times. March 23, 2010.
  10. ^ McKenzie, Madeline (April 30, 2009). "Penguin exhibit opens Saturday at Woodland Park Zoo". The Seattle Times.
  11. ^ Woodland Park Zoo STATEMENT: Night Exhibit ("Nocturnal House") Closure, Woodland Park Zoo, 2010-01-05. Accessed online 2010-01-07.
  12. ^ "Woodland Park Zoo to close Night Exhibit". mynorthwest.co. Bonneville International. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  13. ^ Prince-Hughes, Dawn (1987). Songs of the Gorilla Nation. Harmony. p. 77. ISBN 1-4000-5058-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ http://saltlakemagazine.com/blog/2014/05/01/lions-make-their-way-to-hogle-zoo/
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