Snow zoomies activated! ❄️ Our muskoxen were taking full advantage of today’s snow with plenty of racing, bouncing and embracing the winter weather.
📹: Graphics Delaney
Due to snowy conditions, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is closed today. ❄️
📸: Curator Jen
Seven goats, one big birthday celebration! 🎂🐐 Happy second birthday to Kettle, Biscuit, Hopper, Crumpet, Rhubarb, Thistle, and Daisy Mae. May your day be filled with tasty snacks, bouncy zoomies, and plenty of mischief.
Scooter is 24 today! 🎉 With a median life expectancy of 17.8 years for armadillos in human care, Scooter is officially in his legend era. 💪
Happy 24th birthday to this shellebrated superstar! 🎂
📹: Animal care staff Hannah
Animals in the Asian Forest Sanctuary rotate through different habitats. This unique system offers them new sights, scents, and enrichment opportunities, encouraging natural curiosity and exploration. 2/2
Bintang, affectionately known as Bini, can often be seen exploring the Asian Forest Sanctuary, exploring along forested trails, scent-marking his territory, or stretching out for a nap. Nearby, Kali enjoys the waterfall habitat, often keeping a watchful eye on everything around her. 1/2
Spotted and soaring through Baja Bay! 💙 Eagle rays are among the largest rays in the ocean, growing up to 10 feet across and 16 feet from tip to tail. Their dark gray-blue backs are dotted with small white spots, and their wing-like fins make it look like they’re flying through the water.
Happy National Napping Day from a few of our napping experts! 💤
Snack time with Bao! 🐟 Every nibble, chew, and curious chomp is part of Bao discovering the tasty side of being an otter.
📹: Animal care staff Katie
Tilli’s on landscaping duty for Aardvark Week! 🐾
When it comes to digging, our aardvark has the ultimate built-in rototiller. With powerful claws and a nose for adventure, Tilli can turn over soil in no time while searching for tasty insects. 🐜
📹: Animal care staff Erica
Happy #AardvarkWeek to the queen of the castle, Tilli! 👑🏰
Tilli’s care team built her a cardboard castle, and she wasted no time putting that adorable sniffer to work. Watch as our 20-year-old aardvark explores her castle and slurps up mealworms and snacks with her long, sticky tongue.
Making waves together! 🌊 Our playful California sea lions and curious harbor seals share the water like pros. From speedy spins to smooth glides, these marine neighbors know how to make a splash while cruising through their underwater world. 🦭
While keepers were busy cleaning one of the larger pools, baby otter Bao enjoyed his own little splash zone, complete with a tub full of toys to investigate, toss, and pounce on.
📹: Animal care staff Katie
Keeping Humphrey healthy is all in a day’s work! 💙 When our charismatic humphead wrasse started “flashing” (essentially a fish’s way of saying, “I’m itchy!”), our animal care and veterinary teams stepped in with a careful exam and treatment. 🐠 Read the story at pdza.org/keeping-humphrey-healthy
Happy snoozes for #AardvarkWeek 💤 Our sweet girl Tilli is off on a dreamland adventure, and yes, that little tongue is still hard at work! 💕 Even in her sleep, it looks like she’s slurping up imaginary termites.
Meet Remy and Senya, our dynamic siamang pair. Siamangs are the largest of the gibbons and are famous for their powerful, echoing calls, thanks to a special throat sac that inflates like a balloon when they sing! 🎵💗
Meet the sweetest stars in the sea ⭐🍪 These iconic sea stars get their name from the dark, cone-shaped spines scattered across their backs, just like chocolate chips on a cookie. Chocolate chip sea stars aren’t just adorable; those “chips” actually help protect them from predators.
Tilli the aardvark reporting for duty: professional digger, dirt enthusiast, and all-around tunnel queen. 👑
Named after a rototiller (because she’s basically a living, breathing garden tool), Tilli digs because she loves it, and she’s very, very good at it. #AardvarkWeek
Happy #AardvarkWeek Tilli!
Get ready to giggle, our girl Tilli is slurping up grub at lightning speed in this hilarious video. That loooong, sticky tongue is built for business, and she puts it to work, along with her oversized ears, adorable sniffer, and powerful digging claws.
Our tufted puffins are still rocking their winter plumage!
In winter, tufted puffins have:
🖤 Darker faces
🧡 More muted beaks and feet
✨ No long golden “tufts” (those grow back for breeding season!)
As spring approaches, we’ll start to see their famous glow-up.
Sunday snoozin’ with Clara & Moea 🦦
Rescued sea otters Clara and Moea are taking their Sunday very seriously, naps first, everything else later. 💤 In the wild, otters will often link paws, sometimes called forming a “raft”, so they don’t drift apart while floating on their backs.
Lucky for Bao, first-time parents Sebastian and Pintar are right there for every brave leap, snack break, and snuggly reset. 🫶 (2/2)
Three months of squeaks, splashes, and serious cuteness! 💙
Bao is officially in his busy otter era, curious, confident, and always ready to investigate anything that moves (or makes a splash). From wiggly pounces to tiny paddle-powered swims, he’s growing fast and loving every minute of it. (1/2)
Our meerkat family is taking “cuddle puddle” to a whole new level! 💗
📷: Veterinary Technician Bianca
It’s International Polar Bear Day! 🐻❄️ Denning is the most vulnerable time in a polar bear’s life. The biggest threat to polar bear population sizes is cubs not surviving to adulthood, so every single cub is critically important.
Learn how you can get involved: pbears.org/intlpolarbearday
Say hello to the tiny but mighty grunt sculpin! At just 3 inches long, these armored little fish love to hide in crevices. They’re not great swimmers, so they walk, hop, and crawl along the sea floor with their bright orange pectoral fins. Come peek at these quirky little cuties!
Cautious and gentle, but still incredibly powerful, Laerke loves enrichment time, especially diving and splashing in her saltwater pool filtered from the Puget Sound. 💙
🐻❄️ pdza.org/polar-bear
Meet our polar bear Laerke for #InternationalPolarBearDay! 🐻❄️
Laerke’s start in life was difficult, requiring intensive care after birth. Ongoing health issues meant she was hand-reared. Though she’s made progress, she still has specific needs and receives personalized care.
Breaking News: Baby Bao found another stick!
The 3-month-old otter pup was really proud to show it off and even share it with his mom, Pintar. 💙
