It’s a big weekend for the Woodland Park Zoo. It’s opening its “Dinosaurs. Real Close” exhibit of animatronic dinos, plus it’s offering free carousel rides courtesy of Seattle City Light.

Seattle City Light recently installed solar panels to help power the carousel. On Saturday and Sunday, zoo-goers can ride the carousel as many times as they want. (Carousel rides are normally $2.)

Photo by Mat Hayward/Woodland Park Zoo.

The “Dinosaurs. Real Close” exhibit opens on Saturday and runs through Sept. 5. The animatronic dinos will move, roar, snarl, hiss and spit. The dinosaur exhibit costs $3 in addition to zoo admission (free for children 2 and under). It is located next to the West Entrance, near the penguins, where the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit used to be.

Syracosaurus and friends arrive at Woodland Park Zoo earlier this month. Photo by Tyler Steele, PhinneyWood intern.

You can purchase dinosaur exhibit entry at the zoo admission gate or at the dinosaurs exhibit; and you can re-enter the exhibit as many times as you want on the day of purchase. The zoo’s summer season officially starts on Sunday, May 1, with extended hours (open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily) and increased prices.

Last weekend, elephant management and animal health staff at Woodland Park Zoo artificially inseminated 32-year-old Asian elephant Chai.

Dr. Dennis Schmitt (standing, in maroon shirt), a leading expert in elephant reproductive physiology, helped the zoo’s elephant management and animal health staff artificially inseminate Chai. Photo by Dennis Dow, courtesy Woodland Park Zoo.

From the press release:

“The world’s leading experts on elephant health and breeding, including the Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan, recommend that we breed Chai again, by artificial insemination,” explained Dr. Nancy Hawkes, the zoo’s General Curator and resident expert in elephant reproductive physiology. “A baby would be socially enriching not only for Chai, but for the herd. A successful pregnancy and birth would help us begin to re-build a multigenerational social group here at the zoo.”

A 12-year-old bull at Albuquerque Biological Park Zoo contributed the semen. With no offspring to date, he is genetically valuable to the North American population of elephants.

The gestation period for elephants is 22 months. It will be approximately 15 to 16 weeks before the zoo can confirm a pregnancy by ultrasound and through hormonal changes in Chai. If she is pregnant, her due date will be in early 2013. The last artificial insemination procedure on Chai was done last year in June. It did not result in a pregnancy.

Only 30,000-50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild, scattered across fragmented habitats in 13 Asian countries. The greatest threat to Asian elephants is habitat loss, which inevitably results in conflicts with farmers, villagers and plantation owners, resulting in human casualties and elephant deaths. Human-elephant conflict is the most widespread and difficult issue to tackle for elephants in Asia. Saving elephants requires a network of key players, including AZA zoos, conservation non-governmental organizations, government and international agencies, businesses, and range country elephant experts to collaborate and strategically work together.

Chai previously gave birth to a female, Hansa, in 2000. Hansa died suddenly 6-1/2 years later from a newly discovered elephant herpesvirus.

The Woodland Park Zoo today raised more than $300,000 during its annual Thrive fundraiser of civic, business, conservation and education leaders. That is the first money raised as part of an anonymous $4 million challenge grant to help build new tiger and Asian bear exhibits. It is the largest challenge grant in the zoo’s history.

The new exhibit complex, known as the Asian Tropical Forest, is the centerpiece initiative of the zoo’s $80 million More Wonder More Wild comprehensive campaign. With this recent gift announcement, the zoo has successfully raised $59 million—or 74% of its campaign goal—to date through the campaign’s private phase…The zoo hopes to complete the campaign in 2012 and open the first phase of the new exhibit in 2013.

The Asian Tropical Forest initiative is expected to cost $21 million and will replace the 60-year-old infrastructure that critically endangered tigers and Asian bears currently inhabit at the zoo. Currently in conceptual design phase, the new exhibit complex will transform an outdated area of the zoo into a dynamic, naturalistic destination connecting more than 1 million zoo visitors each year to the diverse animals of tropical Asia and the work the zoo and its partners do to protect them.

Modeled on the theme “Sharing the Forest: People are the Conservation Solution,” Asian Tropical Forest will empower and inspire visitors with up-close animal encounters, hands-on learning and links to meaningful conservation actions visitors can take to build a better future for wildlife. Using sustainable design, the exhibits will provide tigers, Asian bears and other species representing the biodiversity of the region with a naturalistic, enriching environment that evokes the lush forests of tropical Asia and encourages natural behaviors such as stalking prey, foraging for food and caring for young.

 Artist’s concept rendering by Scott Taylor.

Asian Tropical Forest represents one of the eight initiatives that make up More Wonder More Wild, the zoo’s most ambitious, forward-looking comprehensive campaign to date. The eight programmatic and capital initiatives of the campaign integrate visitor experiences, naturalistic exhibits, animal care, field conservation, educational opportunities, environmental sustainability and technical innovation.

A pair of Steller’s sea eagles just moved from the Los Angeles Zoo to Woodland Park Zoo. The sea eagles will undergo a standard 30-day quarantine before being introduced to their exhibit in the Northern Trail.

These striking raptors are notably one of the heaviest eagles in the world, ranging from 11 to 20 pounds with a wing span of up to 7.5 feet. Their arrival marks the first time this species has been at the zoo.

Woodland Park Zoo animals will get special holiday treats such as fish- or fruit-trimmed wreaths, evergreen trees with ornamental fruit, or favorite snacks in wrapped boxes during the Winter Celebration on Dec. 20-22 and Dec. 27-29.

Photo by Dennis Dow.

Here’s the animal and treat schedule.

Monday, Dec. 20 and 27:

11 a.m. – Sun bears
12 p.m. – Grizzlies (12/20 only), meerkats (12/27 only)
1:30 p.m. — Pigs
1:30 p.m. — Meerkats (12/20 only), Tree kangaroo (12/27 only)
2 p.m. – Elephants

Tuesday, Dec. 21 and 28:

11 a.m. – Orangutans
12 p.m. – Otters (12/28 only)
1 p.m. – Golden lion tamarins
1:30 p.m. — Tree kangaroo (12/21 only)
2 p.m. — Tigers

Wednesday, December 22, 29

11 a.m. – Snow leopards
1 p.m. – Gorillas
1:30 p.m. – Penguins
2 p.m. – Australasia keas and Willawong Station

The Zoo is closed Christmas Day.

Woodland Park Zoo received a 1-year-old female South African lion, named Adia, from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in early November. Adia has been quarantined for the standard 30 days, and will undergo a full physical on Wednesday before her quarantine is over.

Photo by Grahm Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Named Adia (AH-dee-uh), which means “gift” in Swahili, the new lion arrived under a recommendation by the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for African lions. She will be paired for breeding with the zoo’s 11-year-old male lion when she reaches sexual maturity next fall. After clearing quarantine, Adia will be introduced gradually to the zoo’s award-winning African Savanna where she will rotate on exhibit. The male currently lives with another female, 11 years old.

All three lions belong to the South African subspecies, Panthera leo krugeri. Known as the Transvaal lion, it ranges in Southern Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest belt, in grassy plains, savanna and open woodlands.

The lion is perhaps the most iconographic of all the African savanna species. Their presence on the savanna immeasurably increases eco-tourism. In zoos, they help demonstrate the interdependency of all species. Although not endangered, African lions face an uncertain future, primarily due to the growth in human population. Poachers hunt lions for trophies and because they pose a threat to humans and livestock.

Woodland Park Zoo is hosting an open house for the community to comment on plans to improve access to and visibility of the zoo on Phinney Avenue North. The open house is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, in the Membership Office lobby inside the zoo’s West Entrance. Light refreshments will be served.

Participants will have the chance to meet with zoo staff to learn about improvements the zoo is considering on Phinney Ave. N. near N. 55th Street, including a new, safe pedestrian path, locations for a zoo sign, directional signage for better wayfinding, and repositioning of the nearby North-bound bus stop to help encourage transit use.

Zoo leadership and project managers will incorporate feedback from the open house in the completion of this improvement project. The project is expected to be completed by May 1, 2011.

For more information about the open house, contact Roxanne Murphy, Community Relations and Outreach Liaison, at roxanne.murphy@zoo.org or 206.548.2462.

We spotted this on a Phinney Ridge sidewalk this morning. So which camp are you in? Happy or grumpy about the snow?

Woodland Park Zoo says its animals are enjoying the snow day. Here’s a lion.

And here are some of its Humboldt penguins.

The animals are doing just fine in the snow. They have indoor access and heated areas, though many choose to go out and explore the snow anyway. It can be quite enriching.

Zoo photos by Ryan Hawk.

Woodland Park Zoo’s zookeepers are holding their Holiday Silent Auction on Friday, Nov. 19. You can bid on artwork created by animals and behind-the-scenes animal experiences.

Animal experiences could be watching an elephant bath, taking a photo with a raptor, or getting up close and personal with an orangutan.

Elephant Watoto painting. Photo by Ryan Hawk.

Guaranteed bidding, lunch and bake sale are from 12-3 p.m. Friday. Silent auction, dinner, bake sale, and wine and beer cash bar are from 4-8 p.m. The auction is at the Woodland Park Zoo Education Center near the South Entrance, at North 50th Street and Fremont Avenue North.

Entrance to the auction is free, but access to the zoo is not included. Parking is free after 4 p.m.

The Sensory Garden Advisory Committee is holding a meeting on Saturday to start developing a sensory garden next to the Woodland Park Zoo. A sensory garden is a broad term for an area that can be therapeutic for the deaf, blind or those with autism. For example, it may have flowers with strong scents, highly textured plants, a rain garden or a reflexology path.

The Woodland Park sensory garden will be a public park to the northeast of the Woodland Park Rose Garden, in an undeveloped area between the rose garden and the zoo.

Community involvement and design meetings will take place this fall, with construction documents prepared by next spring, and the garden’s completion and dedication planned for late next summer.

The meeting is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Norse Home, 5311 Phinney Ave. N. For more information, email Briar Bates or Karen Ko, or call Ko at 206-999-8370.

The Woodland Park Zoo reports that one of its adult flamingos and two newborn flamingo chicks have died. The chicks hatched on Oct. 3 and 9.

From the zoo’s press release:

The older of the chicks was found dead this morning in the exhibit, and the younger of the chicks was discovered missing Sunday night.

Both parents of flamingos are involved in rearing their young, and this year’s chicks were being raised under the care of their parents, not by the zoo staff. The younger chick was left in a vulnerable position under the sole care of its mother following the unexpected death of her mate last Friday. A necropsy revealed that this adult bird died of a fractured vertebra and internal health issues. The cause of the injury has not been determined.

The older chick was thriving under the care of its attentive parents and was showing increased signs of mobility and natural flamingo behavior. It is not known what led to its death.

One of the flamingo chicks eating last week. Photo by Dennis Dow, Woodland Park Zoo.

Three flamingo eggs remain in nests at the exhibit, and are expected to hatch soon.

The Woodland Park Zoo’s annual Pumpkin Bash is set for Oct. 30-31, with special treats for the animals, live entertainment and daytime trick-or-treating. But the annual three-day, nighttime Pumpkin Prowl has been canceled because it didn’t raise enough money to cover costs.

According to the zoo, some of the Pumpkin Prowl activities, such as the trick-or-treating, are being rolled into the Pumpkin Bash.

Pumpkin Bash features: a repertoire of animal behavior as hippos, bears, elephants, birds, and other animals crunch, smash or stomp on the orange gourds; trick or treating in the zoo’s West Plaza; “Thriller” dance performances by Roosevelt High School (Sunday only); demonstrations by Alpha Martial Arts (Saturday only); imaginative and fun presentations by Killer Science; face painting (additional fee); up-close animal encounters; meet ‘n’ greets with the zoo’s penguin and meerkat mascots; programs in Zoomazium’s indoor nature play space; and discovery stations to explore animal life.

Photo by Lori Veres, Woodland Park Zoo.

Pumpkin Bash is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 31. Click here for a full schedule of when each animal gets their Halloween treats. Pumpkin Bash is included in zoo admission. Special discount for this event: one child 12 and under in costume is admitted free with a paid adult. Bring your own trick-or-treat bags. The zoo’s current winter hours are 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily.