Are you missing your family and friends? Do you want to wish them a socially distanced “Happy Birthday!” or “Congrats!”? Animal lovers can now share a special message with a wild touch, all from the comfort of your own couch! Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park are now offering “Animal Shoutouts.” … Continued
Our new penguin chicks are learning to swim! Supervised carefully by keepers in a small, safe pool behind the scenes, they take the plunge and figure it out! They’ll stay there for a few weeks while keepers hand-feed and bond with them. Then, when they lose their downy fluff and grow in the waterproof plumage … Continued
We all love summer in the Pacific Northwest, but there’s no doubt that some days get pretty hot. Humans are pretty creative in finding ways to beat the heat – splashing, shade, cool clothes – and our Zoo animals do it too! Muskox Muskoxen are adapted for living above the Arctic Circle and nibbling for … Continued
Alex Trebek’s favorite animal is the muskox. Now, the longtime gameshow host has one named just for him. Meet Trebek, a fuzzy, four-week-old muskox calf at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Adoring fans voted online for his name, chosen from a slate of four offered by zookeepers at the Tacoma zoo. Out of 5,229 votes, … Continued
Have you met Mitik and Pakak yet? Our young male walruses are definitely growing and showing their personalities! They moved here last year as part of a nationwide walrus breeding program, but being only eight years old they’re still in the “teenage” stage. And if you know teenage boys, you know things can get quite … Continued
He head-butted some rocks. He tasted some clover. Then he galloped back down the hillside to mom. Yes, it’s official – our baby muskox calf is a boy, and now his fans get to vote on his name. (UPDATE: Voting closed 12pm July 8.) The veterinary and animal care team confirmed the sex last Friday … 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, drink, fiber, spices or medicine need to be pollinated by a very special group of animals called pollinators. Bees, butterflies, wasps, moths, hummingbirds, bats and … Continued
It’s a boy! Or maybe a girl! Whatever the gender, it’s pretty perfect timing for a birth announcement. Early Sunday morning at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Charlotte, a 621-pound muskox, gave birth to a calf, just as the Zoo was preparing to announce its June 18 reopening under Phase 2 of the governor’s Safe … Continued
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is observed each year on April 30 as a way to raise awareness for thousands of pets that are waiting for their “fur-ever” home. Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, shelters are facing more challenges than ever. Pets of every size, color, temperament and breed are waiting to meet … Continued
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s 9-month-old tapir calf Kazu is healthy and growing more every day. Like all Malayan tapirs, he was covered in watermelon spots and stripes when he was little, but now he has the sleek black and white stripes of an adult tapir. He still has some baby spots on his chest, … Continued
How are you coping in quarantine? Staying home and isolated during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t easy, and it’s really important to take care of yourself and those you live with. Luckily, our animals and keepers are experts in caring! Here are 10 Animal Tips to help you stay well at home. Click on any image … Continued
The penguins at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium are entering nesting season! Despite the coronavirus pandemic, keepers at the zoo continue to work and care for the animals. As part of that care, keepers prepared Penguin Point for nesting season, adding long grasses for the Magellanic penguins to use to build their nests. “They need … Continued
We may be closed due to recent restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), but our keepers and veterinary team are still at the zoo every day caring for our animals. From enrichments to treats, check-ups to scratch-downs, here’s how we’re #closedbutstillcaring. Click on any image to start the slideshow. Mouse over to see … Continued
How does it feel to be the oldest siamang? Well, for Cho Cho, snuggled up with his companion Dudlee on a crisp fall morning at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, it seemed pretty cozy. This year Cho Cho is celebrating his 53rd birthday – which makes him the oldest siamang on record in human care … Continued
Calf expected this summer Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium has one more reason to celebrate muskoxen Charlotte and Hudson this Valentine’s Day: they are expecting a calf this summer. Recent tests confirmed five-year-old Charlotte is pregnant, zoo General Curator Dr. Karen Goodrowe said. The father is four-year-old Hudson. Charlotte experienced pregnancy for the first time … Continued
Caring for the World’s Oldest Male Polar Bear As Boris splashed in the pool, it was as if age didn’t matter. Paw-slamming a brown ball, pushing around a blue trash can and play-wrestling with his younger buddy Blizzard, the 34-year-old polar bear swam and flipped like a youngster. Then he hauled himself out, shook out … Continued
TACOMA, Wash.–Love is in the air at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium! In honor of Valentine’s Day, visitors will have a chance to celebrate the zoo’s animal couples on February 15 and 16. There’s no concrete way to measure an animal’s love but many of the animals at the zoo are coupled up, or longtime … Continued
Rainy day? Here in the Pacific Northwest we get a lot of them. But that’s actually one of the best times to visit the Zoo! Fewer crowds, cool animals and plenty of places to stay dry. Here are 10 ways to do it. 1. Gaze at sea turtles Our new Pacific Seas Aquarium is the … Continued
We’re all feeling the cold right about now in the Pacific Northwest – and the rest of the country too. But here at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, our animals have some pretty cool ways to deal with it. From fur coats to heated hammocks, here are five ways our animals beat the winter cold. … Continued
Whoever first invented the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac probably wasn’t thinking of African giant pouched rats like Chiku, Celine and Mona Lisa. But the coming Asian New Year (Jan. 25) celebrates the rat as a symbol of prosperity – and our three ambassador HeroRATs fit the bill perfectly. MEET OUR RATS: … 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 make some fun guesses based on what they enjoy doing or eating! Here’s a Zoo wish-list for Santa from some of our animals. Let’s hope … Continued
If the sharks and fish noticed an unusual animal in the South Pacific Aquarium, they didn’t let on. In the steamy aquarium, on a December Tuesday when Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was closed, two tamanduas were wandering past the Outer Reef, along the lagoon and over to stingray beach. It was Terra and her … Continued
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s two new walruses Mitik and Pakak are adjusting well to their new home in Rocky Shores, even exploring different areas of the exhibit than other walruses before them. “They seem to be getting along well. They’re wrestling around a lot and practicing behaviors they will need as they grow up,” … Continued
Our newest goat kids at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium were introduced for the first time to guests last Thursday. Siblings Marion and Juniper went for a walk around the zoo with their keepers. Now three months old, born on August 12, the brother and sister weigh about 20 pounds each. “This is their first … Continued
They were rescued as orphans in the same week. They spent the next three months of their lives together, snuggling with keepers and each other. And now, after seven years, they’ll be together again. Young male walruses Mitik (pronounced Mitt-ick) and Pakak (Puck-uck, or Puck for short) have arrived at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium … Continued
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the zoo, we bring you – Halloween in the Aquarium! Arms covered with suckers. Backs covered with eyes. Lumpsuckers, tentacles, vacuum mouths and just plain scary faces. (Plus a white crab nicknamed “Casper.”) If you’re looking for weird, cool or slightly icky, our Pacific Seas … Continued
Cindy Roberts and Sheriden Ploof stood in long rubber boots on the edge of the walrus pool, metal bucket in hand. For the two Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium staff biologists, it was a bittersweet moment. Basilla and Kulusiq, the zoo’s two female walruses, were leaving for a new home in sunny San Diego – … Continued
Kulu loves playing with a hose waterfall. Basa gives a deep sigh if she’s not in the mood for something. Cumulatively, they’ve lived at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for 16 years. Our lady walruses Kulusiq and Basilla are leaving for SeaWorld San Diego, and we’re giving them two weekends of farewell: Oct. 5-6 and … Continued
Our red wolf pups are growing up into adolescents – and now they have dyed fur to boot. Now 18 weeks old, the pups born on May 10 are now between 22-28 pounds each – that’s around half the weight of their petite mom, Charlotte. They’ll keep gaining around a pound a week for the next … Continued
