Skip to main content

Zoo News

New Polar Bears Arriving Soon

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

May 16, 2023

animals

see all
May 31, 2023

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

May 16, 2023

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

May 15, 2023

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

Apr 25, 2023

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

aquarium

see all
May 15, 2023

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

Mar 30, 2022

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

Feb 11, 2022

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

Feb 03, 2022

Did you know that Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is home to the largest jellyfish display in Oregon and Washington. And now we have even more! Upside down jellyfish are … Continued

May 31, 2023

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

May 16, 2023

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

Apr 28, 2023

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

Apr 25, 2023

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

conservation

see all
May 31, 2023

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

May 16, 2023

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

May 15, 2023

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

Oct 24, 2022

Cindy Roberts, a former staff biologist at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, recently received the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) Nico van Strien Leadership in Conservation Award. Cindy was … Continued

people

see all
May 31, 2023

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

May 15, 2023

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

Apr 25, 2023

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

Apr 25, 2023

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

plants

see all
May 31, 2023

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

Jun 22, 2022

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

Sep 21, 2021

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

Sep 13, 2021

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

Uncategorized

see all
May 12, 2023

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

Zoo Art

see all
Sep 08, 2021

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

Jul 22, 2021

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

May 06, 2019

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

Apr 17, 2019

UPDATE: May 1, 2019 We did it! We made 3,600 paper turtles, glueing them onto ten blue silk “waves” to create a cascading spiral of ocean beauty in the Pacific … Continued

zoolights

see all
Nov 16, 2022

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

Oct 11, 2022

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

Dec 19, 2019

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

Nov 01, 2019

It’s a problem, just how many spots Kazu the tapir calf has. Not for him, of course – the spots are excellent camouflage. But for Dennis Parkhurst and Mason Patzer, … Continued