There’s some extra excitement in the Rocky Shores seabird habitat at the zoo: Five tufted puffin chicks, known as pufflings, hatched recently! After pufflings hatch, they stay in a nest … Continued

Celebrate Suki’s 59th birthday at the zoo Sept. 22-24. Suki, the Asian elephant, is famous around Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Guests are invited to join her birthday festivities as … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is home to three endangered sea otters in the Rocky Shores habitat. Every year, Sea Otter Awareness Week takes place during the last full week of September … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and other local partners recently won the 2023 Certificate of Excellence in Public Service from the Public Relations Society of America … Continued

Black cats, pumpkins, ghosts… skulls and skeletons. They’re all symbols of the Halloween season. We asked Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s veterinarians, Dr. Karen Wolf and Dr. Kadie Anderson, to … Continued

It’s one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. It’s used for buildings, dishes, musical instruments. It’s food for animals and people. And there are over 45 types at Point … Continued

Voting is now open for our community to choose the name of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s newest baby animal- a female muskox calf. The calf, born to eight-year-old Charlotte, … Continued

IT’S A GIRL! MUSKOX CALF BORN AT POINT DEFIANCE ZOO & AQUARIUM Charlotte the muskox gave birth to a female calf Thursday morning at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. The … Continued

Checking in on Puget Sound’s Health How healthy is Puget Sound? What areas are showing declines, and which are holding steady? Those are the questions divers at Point Defiance Zoo … Continued

Penguin chick Regina passed her “swimming lessons” and can now be seen in Penguin Point with the rest of the Magellanic penguin colony. The two-month-old chick, raised by parents Orange … Continued

As a powerful heat wave hits the greater Tacoma area with temperatures in the 90s, keepers at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma are finding ways to keep the … Continued

If the tiger is the king of the jungle, then the anoa would be the gardener. They’re not iconic like an elephant or acrobatic like a siamang. They don’t star … Continued

So fetch! We can’t wait for you to meet penguin chick Regina – named after Regina George from the movie Mean Girls. The growing penguin chick currently lives behind the … Continued

What’s that sound? It’s the tapirs together again, sharing a habitat in the Asian Forest Sanctuary. Yuna (female) and Baku (male) know each other by smell and sound, but usually … Continued

Sharks, sharks, sharks! It’s Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, which means it’s time to celebrate sharks’ critical role in our marine food webs and ocean health. The Pacific Seas Aquarium is … Continued

National Zookeeper Week takes place July 18-24 this year. The week is devoted to sharing the passion and dedication of keepers. Our zookeepers are a dedicated group of people who … Continued

Arctic Sea Ice Day is July 15. It’s a day to draw attention to the rapidly melting Arctic ecosystem, why it matters, and how we can all help slow this … Continued

With black iridescent plumage and remarkable intellect, Ari is a beautiful bird that came to us from our friends Portland Audubon. Ravens have a wide variety of vocalizations and are … Continued

Ever wondered what it’s like to run a finger over the back of a prickly pink sea star? Or hold a tiny crab in the palm of your hand? Find … Continued

Astra’s large round paws are very busy, kneading a big blue barrel that’s full of water. It looks like she is making biscuits. She pushes down with all her might … Continued

The New Crawlers with Curls What has eight legs and never has a bad hair day? Our new curlyhair tarantulas! Six spiders have joined the pack at Kids’ Zone and … Continued

Astra and Laerke, two polar bear cubs who have captivated much of the country since their births two years ago at the Detroit Zoo, arrived at Point Defiance Zoo & … Continued

Nearly 800 observers took part in this year’s City Nature Challenge spanning King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties, including Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Snohomish and any place in between. From April … Continued

The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) and the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, announced today that two polar bear cubs, Astra and Laerke, will move to Point Defiance Zoo in spring … Continued

The bright-yellow school bus door opened, and the happy squeals and chatter couldn’t be contained. On this sunny spring morning, more than 200 students from Tacoma’s Lister Elementary School were … Continued

The Red Wolf Recovery Program announced the birth of a new litter of wild American Red Wolf pups in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. A cross-fostered male pup, born at … Continued

If Dr. Karen Wolf needs another skilled set of hands for a tiger procedure, she knows who to call. And if Dr. Allison Case has a beaver or owl that … Continued

Collaborations with our community are an incredible opportunity to create meaningful connections. Tacoma students at Science and Math Institute (SAMi), School of the Arts (SOTA), and School of Industrial Design, … Continued

Each year Tacoma students from the Science and Math Institute (SAMI) participate in a day of service with Point Defiance Zoo. In previous years, students have helped shovel sand in … Continued

Volunteers are an essential part of our community at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, donating their valuable time, passion and expertise to the Zoo. In honor of National Volunteer Week, … Continued