Woodland Park Zoo Press Release

What:
Chomp, chomp, sniff, sniff, stomp, stomp are the sights and sounds of animals enjoying pumpkins at Woodland Park Zoo’s Pumpkin Bash. To kick off the weekend event of pumpkin treats for the animals, keepers will toss pumpkins to the hippos and elephants Thursday, October 26.

Photo: Jan Baldwin

The pumpkin treats are part of the zoo’s ongoing enrichment program to help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and provide added enjoyment for visitors.

Three female hippos live at the award-winning African Savanna: 43-year-old Gertie, 28-year-old Water Lily and 7-year-old Guadalupe.

Woodland Park’s elephant herd is all females: Asian elephants 39-year-old Bamboo, 27-year-old Chai (rhymes with eye), Chai’s 5-year-old calf Hansa (HUN-suh) and African elephant 37-year-old Watoto (wah-TOE-toe).

When:
Photo op at hippos and elephants: Thursday, October 26
Hippos: 1:00 p.m.
Elephants: 1:20 p.m.

Pumpkin Bash for visitors: Saturday and Sunday, October 28-29, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Where:
Meet at the zoo’s ARC building near the West Entrance at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Staff will escort you to the African Savanna hippo pool, followed by elephants. The ARC is locked – late arrivals may enter through the West Entrance and proceed to the exhibits.

Info:
Pumpkin Bash for zoo-goers is Saturday and Sunday, October 28-29, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at various exhibits throughout the zoo. For a full schedule, visit the Pumpkin Bash page on the zoo’s Web site. The activities are free with zoo admission.

Winter hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. For more information, visit www.zoo.org or call 206.684.4800.

Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.