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SEATTLE – A secret Santa delivered a generous package to Woodland Park Zoo - $6 million, the largest gift in the zoo’s history! The funds will support the zoo’s five- to 7-year strategic plan and are specifically designated to help the zoo build a new Humboldt penguin exhibit and new west entry.

In 2005 zoo staff developed an options list of all the capital projects and operating programs the zoo could build or create over the next five to seven years to meet the zoo’s mission, advance the zoo’s strategic goals and begin building projects detailed in the Long-Range Physical Development Plan, which was approved by Seattle City Council in October 2004. The zoo will develop deeper expertise and excellence in animal care, build new exhibits for several animals, significantly improve guest experiences by creating more fun and engaging experiences, and inspire visitors to learn, care and act to save animals and habitats both locally and globally.

The new penguin exhibit is part of eight major initiatives that will be implemented over the next seven years to benefit: the more than 1,000 animals in the zoo’s care; the employees and volunteers who work at the zoo; the million plus visitors who visit the zoo annually; the communities the zoo partners with for education and conservation initiatives; and the organizations to which the zoo is responsible for stewarding the zoo’s assets.

“This gift demonstrates how cherished the zoo is by our community and underscores the importance of the zoo’s efforts to educate our visitors about conservation and how each and every person can make a difference,” says Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. “The new penguin exhibit will be home to 10 or more breeding pairs of highly endangered Humboldt penguins and their offspring. It will include beaches, rocky tide pools and guests will even be able to see the penguins swim underwater!”

The zoo’s current penguin exhibit is outdated. Penguins are highly social animals, and in the new exhibit, guests will marvel at the colony’s natural behavior and group dynamics such as preening, squabbling over territory and chasing fish. Viewable nesting burrows will enable zoo visitors to watch as penguin parents take turns sitting on the nests and feeding young chicks. The exhibit will also incorporate state-of-the-art engineering for water conservation and water quality.

The existing west entry is decades old and, with its outmoded technology and space limitations, is not able to process guests efficiently - there are long lines on busy days. With the parking garage opening in 2008, a new west entrance will allow the zoo the opportunity to greatly improve access and welcome guests smoothly and efficiently. The new west entry will open to a plaza that, in addition to the new penguin exhibit, will provide new visitor amenities – an attractive retail operation, modern and comfortable restrooms, gathering and resting spaces, visitor assistance and equipment rentals, food service and more.

Woodland Park Zoo’s million plus guests, staff and occupants, be they two-legged, four-legged or no-legged, are extremely grateful for the magnificent generosity of this wonderful anonymous family.

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