Animals
Meet our animals
Glide with a shark. Wiggle with a walrus. Chirp with budgies. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is full of animals that will capture your heart and imagination, in habitats from tropical waters to lush bamboo forest. Explore them all here.
NOTE: Parts of Asian Forest Sanctuary, goats and seabirds are temporarily closed as we renovate.
Animal Experiences
Explore Animal Habitats
Read Animal Stories
In a corridor surrounded by pipes, tanks and equipment, three women crouch over a tub. One – an intern veterinarian – carefully handles a Q-tip swab. The second – a veterinarian – readies a microscope slide. The third – an aquarist – has her gloved hands submerged, gently holding a china rockfish. A fourth aquarist … Continued
Zoological Aide Katie Schachtsick holds a long-handled back-scratcher and applies just the right amount of pressure as she rubs it across the black-and-white hide of endangered Malayan tapir Yuna. It’s clear Yuna enjoys the attention – and the back rub – leaning into the scratcher and then moving her stout legs down, getting into a … Continued
Cross your paws. And think of tiger cubs! Our endangered female Sumatran tigers, 5-year-old Kali and 4-year-old Kirana, could be pregnant. Both were artificially inseminated Jan. 30 with sperm from 14-year-old Mohan. We won’t know for a few weeks if a pregnancy resulted, but if successful, tiger cubs would be born in May. But it … Continued
Our Animal Care
Meet Our Animals
Penguin steps out with booties
Feeding Japanese spider crabs
The adorable goat stampede
Meerkats in the ball pit
Take Action for wildlife
THE CHALLENGE: Our Earth’s animals need our help. Their habitats are disappearing; they are being poached or hurt by pollution. We need to act now – together.
TAKE ACTION: At Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, we take action for animals. We support conservation campaigns and send our zoologists into the field for research. And you can help.