Zootourism.com review: Woodland Park Zoo

750 N. 50th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
United States
206-684-4800
http://www.zoo.org

The Woodland Park Zoo has historically been at the forefront of American zoos, being the first (or one of the first) to move from the classic bar-and-concrete exhibits to naturalistic exhibits and landscapes for the animals in their care in the mid-1970s. They remain at the forefront of the creation of naturalistic exhibits, but make a fair attempt at balancing quality and quantity of animals and exhibits. Animals are certainly happier and live longer in the naturalistic enclosures but the better enclosures also take up more space, blocking off the massive quantities of species held by some other institutions (the San Diego Zoo holds 4000 animals in 100 acres to Woodland Park’s 1100 in 92 acres). Year by year, the zoo overhauls another exhibit or two from scratch, leaving another couple of species purring contentedly in their new digs and winning another award.



The zoo contains a number of regions of animals, starting at the main entrance with the large African Savanna. The savanna includes the various herbivores (giraffes, gazelles, zebras, and hippos) roaming a large expanse of grass, trees, and pools. With the savanna is the recent inclusion of a small Kenyan village, with displays relating to the human culture of the area coupled with talks and storytelling from Maasai cultural ambassadors.



As you progress through the zoo, near a small structure for the Komodo dragons, one heads into the Asian jungle environment, with a handful of elephants (happy with their relatively new Thai-styled barn, but a bit lonely since the death of young Hansa), a few tapirs, and siamangs on the way to the also-new orangutan ‘research facility’, which holds the apes in a huge tree-and-enrichment-filled enclosure that allows them to remain in the trees for the majority of the day as is their wont.



The Australasian region includes wallabies, emus, and snow leopards, as well as the brand-new Willawong station, home to a mass of parrots and budgies that visitors can feed and interact with. Continuing on, one finds the well-designed Northern Trial portion, dominated by a large array of forest and mountain creatures (grizzly bears, mountain goats, wolves) and a small area for bald eagle rehabilitation.



Passing the raptor center on the way back to the center of the zoo, one also passes the jaguar, tigers, and a collection of Asian bears. A seasonal butterfly house lies near the soon-to-be-renovated penguin pool and the nocturnal exhibits on the way through, leading to the new Zoomazium, a kid-oriented rainy day facility with cultural activities and a few small animals that don’t mind the added attention.



Completing the loop, one goes through an excellent facility for the two gorilla troupes, a series of temperate animals dominated by cranes and an aviary but also home to some shy red pandas, and an exceptional petting zoo. Rather than the usual set of domestic barnyard animals ready for petting at most such attractions, this one holds exotic versions of the gang. Regular sheep are replaced by the Katahdin hair sheep, goats are replaced by Nigerian dwarves, etc.



The animals are vastly more energetic and playful here than at many zoos, probably related to the large naturalistic enclosures that afford them room to roam and enrichment materials. It should be noted that the naturalistic exhibits do have a downside: when an animal isn’t in the mood to be seen (or in bad weather), visitors will often find themselves with a large amount of trouble trying to find it. Overall though, an excellent zoo. Good variety of animals, very nice enclosures and settings in general, and excellent cultural and educational programs throughout the day.