Endangered Species

Panthera tigris sumatrae

In the wild

Sumatran tigers live in lowland and mountain forests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Around 7-8 feet long, they have characteristic black striping on orange fur, with long whiskers and claws.

Endangered

Tigers depend on tropical rainforests to survive in the wild. In southeast Asia, these forests are rapidly being cut down to grow palm oil, found in many food products. Tigers are also hunted by poachers – fewer than 300 survive in Sumatra. We can help by buying items made of sustainable palm oil and wood, and supporting laws against wildlife trafficking.

Our tigers

We have four tigers in our zoo! Bandar is our male, while Kali, Kirana and Indah are sisters, born here at Point Defiance Zoo. They rotate through the habitats in the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Find them

In the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Chelonia mydas

In the wild

Green sea turtles can live for over 80 years, and grow to 300-400 pounds. They live in warm oceans around the world and migrate a lot. They are herbivores, eating seagrasses and algae.

Endangered

All sea creatures are threatened by plastic pollution, but green sea turtles are also endangered because humans hunt them for eggs, leather and meat. We can help by reducing our plastic consumption and avoiding turtle products.

Our turtles

Two of our sea turtles, Azul and Sunny, are brothers! Hatched in 2003 at Sea World San Diego, they were hand-raised and spent their lives as representatives of their species at Sea World and Monterey Bay Aquarium before coming to Tacoma.
Azul is definitely more inquisitive and curious than his brother Sunny. Atlantic green sea turtle Bruno joined the two sea turtle brothers in 2019 from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Bruno is noticeably larger than Sunny and Azul, who are smaller, Eastern Pacific green sea turtles.

Find them

In Baja Bay in the Pacific Seas Aquarium.

Elephas maximus

In the wild

Asian elephants stand 7-12 feet high, weighing up to 14,000 pounds! They live in forests and grassy plains in India, Indochina, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China.

Endangered

Asian elephants are endangered in the wild. As a result of human poaching for their ivory tusks, as well as loss of their habitat due to human encroachment, their numbers are dwindling. We can help by not buying ivory and other illegal products, and supporting anti-trafficking laws.

Our Elephant

We love our elderly female Asian elephant Suki. She’s not as young as she used to be but still loves her exercise, chomping fresh banana leaves and interacting with our dedicated keepers for daily care.

Find Suki

In the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Enhydra lutis

In the wild

Sea otters live in rocky coastal areas in shallow waters off Alaska, the Aleutian and Commander Islands, Vancouver Island, Washington and California. They love to play and extremely dexterous – they can use their paws to open clam shells and explore objects. By eating sea urchins, they’re vital to protecting kelp forests that would otherwise be consumed

Endangered

Sea otters are endangered, having been hunted nearly to extinction for their thick fur. Now protected, they are still at great risk from oil spills and parasites that reach the ocean via storm drains. We can help them by speaking out against off-shore oil drilling and choosing sustainable seafood.

Our otters

Sea otters are very social – and ours are no exception! Sekiu, Moea and Libby love to play together or just snuggle – but they’re also extremely curious and will explore objects like cups or balls.

Find them

At Rocky Shores.

Tapirus indicus

In the wild

Looking like a cross between a panda and a pig, Malayan tapirs love grazing, and use their long, flexible noses for foraging and even snorkeling while they swim! They live in the dense tropical rainforests of southern Burma, Malay Peninsula, southeast Thailand and Sumatra.

Endangered

Tapirs need forests to live, and theirs are disappearing, thanks to human roads, farms and logging. They’re also poached for their meat. We can help by buying items made of sustainable palm oil and wood.

Find them

Look for our three tapirs, Baku, Yuna and Kazu at the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Ambystoma mexicanums

In the wild

Also known as the Mexican walking fish, the axolotl is a neotenic salamander related to the tiger salamander. They are found exclusively in the lakes and canals of Xochimilco near Mexico City. They live permanently in water.

Critically Endangered

This species is critically endangered due to many reasons including: the introduction of large fish into its lake habitat, predatory birds such as herons and the draining and contamination of the waters of the Xochimilco Lake complex. They are also considered a delicacy in Mexico.

Find them

Look for them at Kids’ Zone.

Varecia variegata

In the wild

This species of lemur lives in the tropical forests of eastern Madagascar, where its thick fur is adapted to the wet, sometimes chilly rainforest canopy. Weighing up to nine pounds, black and white ruffed lemurs are among the largest living lemurs and the largest pollinators in the world: as they feed, pollen sticks to the ruffs of fur around their faces and gets transported from tree to tree. Ring-tailed lemurs also live in Madagascar.

Endangered

Black and white ruffed lemurs are critically endangered and ring-tailed lemurs are endangered primarily due to hunting and habitat loss. We can help by buying wood certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Our lemurs

Our black-and-white ruffed lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs love to swing, climb and play in their treetop ropes and low rocks.

Find them

In Kids’ Zone.

Lynx canadensis

In the wild

There are several species of lynx. Lynx can be found in the remote northern forests of North America, Europe and Asia. Canada lynx have huge feet and protruding ears tipped with long black hairs. Their long fur is silvery-gray to buff, with darker stripes on side and chest and dark spots on belly and inside forelegs. Canada lynx can be found in boreal and coniferous forests across Canada and northern U.S.

Endangered

Canada lynx are considered endangered in Washington. Humans sometimes hunt lynx for their beautiful fur. You can help by telling others not to hunt lynx.

Find them

The Zoo’s Canada lynx lives behind the scenes at Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater but makes appearances during shows.

Hylobates lar

In the wild

Lar gibbons live in Southeast Asia from Indonesia to Thailand. They live in the high canopy of tropical forests and are rarely found in the understory.

Endangered

Lar gibbons are endangered in the wild. They are hunted for food and the illegal pet trade. Another threat is deforestation: much of Southeast Asia’s rainforest is being destroyed to make room for palm oil plantations. You can help save the species by checking the products you use for sustainable palm oil and encouraging companies to make the switch.

Find them

Find our lar gibbon brothers Aries and Orion rotating through exhibits in the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Bubalus depressicornis

In the wild

Lowland anoa live only in lowland forests and swamps on Sulawesi, an Indonesian island. They look like goats but are actually a small species of buffalo.

Endangered

Lowland anoas are endangered. Humans hunt anoas illegally in unprotected forests. They also clear forests and drain anoa marshlands to plant crops – often palm oil plantations. Much of southeast Asia’s rainforest destruction is to make room for palm oil plantations. Check products you use for sustainable palm oil, and encourage companies to make the switch.

Find them

See the zoo’s anoa, Baby Bean, in the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Astrochelys radiata

In the wild

This tortoise lives in the forests and scrublands of Madagascar. It has a smooth, high-domed carapace (or shell) marked with yellow lines that radiate from the center of each dark plate. Its body is yellow, with a black patch on its head.

Critically Endangered

Hunted for meat and the illegal pet trade, radiated tortoises are critically endangered. We can help by refusing illegal wildlife as pets and speaking out against wildlife trafficking.

Our tortoise

Our radiated tortoise lives behind the scenes in Kids’ Zone and is one of our Animal Ambassadors, visiting schools and groups to teach humans about wildlife.

Canis rufus

In the wild

The red wolf is a unique species of wolf smaller than the gray wolf but larger than the coyote. Carnivores, they hunt in social packs, and are generally shy of humans. As key predators, they maintain the balance and population of the different species they prey upon.

Endangered

By the 1970s, only 14 pure red wolves existed on the planet, due to ceaseless hunting. By the 1980s, those wolves were brought from the wild to a zoo-based breeding program to restore the population. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was a leader. You can help by telling your representative how you feel about restoring this iconic animal.

Our red wolves

Our pups, born May 2019, are now as big as their parents! The 3 males have now been moved to help grow the population at our breeding facility at sister zoo Northwest Trek – look out for the 5 females and mom Charlotte.

Find them

In the Red Wolf Woods.

Sphyrna lewini

In the wild

Scalloped hammerhead sharks get their name from their distinctive curved heads. They grow 13-20 feet and live for up to 30  years in temperate and tropical waters around the world. Their broad heads help hunting: Eyes at either end give stereoscopic vision, and more width allows the shark’s sensing organs to find prey buried in sand.

Critically Endangered

Hammerheads are critically endangered around the world, with declining populations due to overfishing, finning and more. We can help by eating sustainable seafood and speaking out against shark finning.

Our sharks

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium worked with a marine biologist in Hawaii to obtain our juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks from a sustainable “pupping ground” in Kaneohe Bay off the Island of Oahu. The sharks, each about 2-feet-long, came to Tacoma under a special permit issued by the state of Hawaii.

Find them

In Baja Bay in the Pacific Seas Aquarium.

Symphalangus syndactylus

In the wild

Siamangs are primates that live in the treetops of tropical rainforests in Sumatra and on the Malay Peninsula. The arms of a siamangs (say it SIGH-amang) are longer than its legs – up to a five-foot span. They eat fruit, flowers, birds and insects, and create unique duets of booms, barks and hoots.

Endangered

Siamangs are losing their habitat to human logging and agriculture. Right now less than 5 per cent of that habitat is protected. We can help by buying items made of sustainable palm oil and wood.

Our siamangs

Born in 1967, Cho Cho is believed to be the oldest siamang in human care in the United States. But that doesn’t stop him swinging around his ropes and hanging with his companion, Dudlee.

Find them

In the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Fratercula cirrhata

In the wild

Tufted puffins live from Alaska to California and northern Asia, and have a tuft of pale feathers growing over the back of their head. Like other puffins they are excellent swimmers and dive for their food – fish. They can hold their breath for up to two minutes and carry around 10 fish in their beak at a time!

Endangered

Tufted puffins are endangered in Washington. Puffins face threats of oil spills, ocean pollution and overfishing of the small fish that make up their diet, plus dwindling of those fish numbers due to climate change. We can help by eating sustainable seafood, slowing climate change and reducing our plastic consumption.

Our puffins

We have two kinds: tufted puffins, with their classic tuft of feathers on the back of their heads; and horned puffins, who sport a curvy black “horn” of feathers over their eyes in summer.

Find them

At Rocky Shores. 

Stegostoma fasciatum

In the wild

Slender, lithe, with a broad tail as long as its body, a zebra shark is a visual delight. Zebra sharks are actually spotted like a leopard (and called leopard sharks in Australia), to better blend with the coral reefs where they live. They are often sluggish by day, resting propped on their pectoral fins with an open mouth facing the current. Zebra sharks eat mollusks, crustaceans and small bony fish, and lay large egg cases which they anchor to the sea bottom with tufts of fiber. The range over the Indo-Pacific ocean from Africa to Japan and New Caledonia.

Endangered

Zebra sharks are vulnerable as a species due to diminishing coral reef habitat and overfishing. We can help by eating sustainable seafood.

Our puffins

Our zebra shark is called Peanut, because she has been in the South Pacific Aquarium since she was a tiny pup! She grew up in the Lagoon, and is now big enough to live in the Outer Reef habitat.

Find them

At the South Pacific Aquarium.

Aceros corrugatus

In the wild

A wrinkled hornbill is a medium to large hornbill found in the dense tropical rainforests of Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. The wrinkled hornbill gains its common name from its casque, a prominent bony crest on top of its large bill which in this species is wrinkled and ridged. The female is smaller than the male and completely black, except for a yellow bill and casque, and a distinguishing bright blue neck.

Endangered

Years ago, poaching threatened wrinkled hornbill survival rates, as humans raided nests to sell nestlings for the pet trade. Today, the biggest threat to this hornbill is logging, which results in loss of habitat. We can help by buying items made of sustainable palm oil and wood.

Fun Fact

Hornbills are important because they help disperse seeds throughout the forest. They regurgitate larger seeds, and pass smaller seeds through their feces. It may be that forests need hornbills as much as hornbills need forests. The presence of nesting hornbills is a sign of a healthy Asian tropical rain forest.

Find Pilai

Look for Pilai at the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

Geoemyda spengleri

In the wild

Black-breasted leaf turtles burrow under dirt, leaves and moss on the forest floor. This species seems to prefer cool temperatures and low light levels. They are primarily terrestrial and found in higher altitude forests in Southern China, specifically the Hanian Islands through Vietnam. Their feet are partially webbed and their eyes are very large with white irises.  They also have an unhinged plastron; which means that they are unable to close their shell tightly. Growing no longer than 5 inches, black-breasted leaf turtles are one of the tiniest turtles in the world. Their jagged shell with rough edges resembles a leaf, which allows them to camouflage with the forest floor.

Endangered

They are threatened by increased use in the food industry and their increased popularity in the pet trade.

Find them

Look for our black-breasted leaf turtles at Kids’ Zone.

Phyllobates terribilis

In the wild

The small frogs’ very bright colors act as a warning to would-be predators; these frogs are toxic! Although most are not potent, some toxins can affect the muscles and nerves upon entering the blood stream of other animals. Golden poison frogs are most active during the day. They have very good eyesight and catch their prey with a sticky, retractable tongue.  Found throughout the rainforests of Central and South America. These terrestrial frogs live in dense vegetation with high humidity, always near a water source.

Endangered

All poison frog species are protected under CITES Appendix II.  This is due to exploitation (illegal trade), and habitat destruction (specifically, the lumber industry)

Find them

Look for our golden poison frogs at Kids’ Zone.