Explore the Shore

There’s some extra excitement in the Rocky Shores seabird habitat at the zoo: Five tufted puffin chicks, known as pufflings, hatched recently! After pufflings hatch, they stay in a nest while their parents take turns bringing food. Eventually, they “fledge” or leave their burrows and join the other puffins in the habitat, and the parents stop feeding them. Keepers then train each bird to hand-feed from them. “Hand-feeding all the puffins allows us to closely monitor individual birds and ensure…

Celebrate Suki’s 59th birthday at the zoo Sept. 22-24. Suki, the Asian elephant, is famous around Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Guests are invited to join her birthday festivities as she celebrates her 59th birthday this weekend, Sept. 22-24. She’s a super-senior among Asian elephants and a superstar to everyone who cares for her. That rings particularly true for Elephant Manager Shannon, who’s cared for the elderly elephant for over 27 years. “You can’t talk about Suki without mentioning Shannon,…

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is home to three endangered sea otters in the Rocky Shores habitat. Every year, Sea Otter Awareness Week takes place during the last full week of September to celebrate and inspire deeper awareness of these marine mammals. Now protected, sea otters are still at significant risk from oil spills, parasites that reach the ocean via storm drains, and plastic ocean trash. All three sea otters living at Point Defiance Zoo were rescued from the wild and deemed…