Zoo News

It’s that time of year again! Our Magellanic penguins have found their mates and are in the middle of nesting season. Earlier this month, keepers observed our penguin pairs snuggling … Continued

If you thought Spring Training was over, guess again! It’s still underway at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. The animals and keepers at the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater are preparing … Continued

It takes many tons of food to feed the more than 12,000 animals that live at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. For example, zoo staff prepare 133,000 pounds of seafood … Continued

February 29th is the hoppiest day of the year! Frogs, cats, lemurs, and more. We’re celebrating our leaping and jumping creatures this Leap Day. Tufted Puffins Spend a few minutes … Continued

2024 resolution: Meet the shining stars of the Pacific Seas Aquarium. Of course, we’re talking about sea stars, commonly referred to as starfish. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is home … 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

Splashing water and excited conversation filled the air behind the scenes of Baja Bay in the Pacific Seas Aquarium as veterinary staff and aquarists gathered for the annual exams of … Continued

If you have children at home, it’s likely you’ve heard the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the Disney movie Encanto. And if you don’t have children, you may … Continued

Polar bear twins Astra and Laerke, both 3-years-old, received wellness exams in March (on different days). The exams were the first time the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium veterinarians and … Continued

Moea, the 14-year-old sea otter, recently received her routine wellness exam. While under anesthesia, the rescued sea otter was weighed, x-rayed, and given a full dental exam and cleaning. Veterinarian … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo’s 12-year-old resident male tiger, Sanjiv, recently had a dentist appointment to fix a fractured tooth. Dr. Alice Sievers, a board-certified veterinary dentist and one of only 250 … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium earned kudos and another five years of accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) in September. The Tacoma zoo also won a significant … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is honored to be OL Reign’s community partner in the 2023 Nationwide Community Impact Program, a season-long initiative promoting local service projects and led by … Continued

At Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, it’s a big “howl yes!” for American red wolf conservation. The Tacoma zoo has been a national leader in bringing this critically endangered species … 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

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

They have thick trunks and twisting branches, like winding pathways through time. Their acorns have fallen to the ground, easy pickings for the gray squirrels, birds, and deer that call … Continued

Second graders at Arlington Elementary School got decked out in matching blue coats. There were excited giggles and chatter as they prepared to leave their classroom and venture into their … Continued

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium will be open daily beginning April 1, just in time for Spring Breaks across the region. Of course, animals like the tigers, red wolves, hammerhead … Continued

Fourth and fifth graders at Tacoma’s Arlington Elementary were giddy with excitement as they gathered in their gym. Which animals were they about to encounter? Maybe an armadillo? A skink? … 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

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

Tomatoes. Apples. Almonds. Pumpkin. Coffee. Tea. Chocolate. All pretty important, right? And they all have one thing in common: they need pollinators. Around 1,000 plants that humans use for food, … Continued

Heavy as velvet, a bumblebee bounces over yellow coneflower petals. Next door a golden honeybee dives headfirst into a red salvia blossom to sip. And across the pathway, a hummingbird … Continued

When it’s wet and cold outside, there are plenty of ways to enjoy Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and meet amazing animals! Warm, Indoor Aquarium The Pacific Seas Aquarium is … Continued

For the holidays this year, consider gifting those close to you something wildly fun to experience together at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium or Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Get up … Continued

There’s a new sea turtle at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Like many sea turtles, it swims along the sandy ocean floor in a seagrass bed. But this sea turtle … Continued

Just above floor level at the Red Wolf Woods habitat, a young girl crouches low. Open-mouthed in wonder, she slowly runs her fingers over the soft snout of a sleeping … Continued

Zookeepers and the animals they love What’s the animal you feel most deeply inside? The one you connect with, love, relate to, share traits with? For National Zookeeper Week 2021, … Continued

UPDATE: Now over. Thanks for visiting! Q: Where in the world would you find an elephant, a sea turtle and an axolotl all together? A: In Species in the Sand, … Continued

It’s only October, but the Zoolights crew at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is already hard at work setting up for the biggest and best holiday event in Pierce County. … Continued

Sightseeing Zoolights with Cameron McIntyre isn’t your standard experience. For one thing, we’re driving around the annual holiday lights display at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in a maintenance truck during daylight. The Zoo … Continued

Tickets on sale now. Purchase tickets here.  Ghosts, goblins, and gourds – you can find all of that at the Zoo’s annual Halloween event, Zoo Boo. But something else festive is … Continued

What would you ask Santa for these holidays if you were a walrus? Or a tiger? Of course we can’t know what our animals are thinking, but we can definitely … Continued