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28-430: Occupying the western half of Woodland Park , the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney , a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer. Six years after Phinney's death, on December 28, 1899, Phinney's wife sold the 188-acre (76 ha) Woodland Park to the city for $ 5,000 in cash and the assumption of a $ 95,000 mortgage . The sum was so large that then-mayor W. D. Wood vetoed

56-621: A distance education program at a university in Switzerland . She became an adjunct professor at Western Washington University in 2000, the same year she received her Asperger's diagnosis. Prince-Hughes has written a variety of books, including Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days , published in 2001, and her memoir Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism , published in 2004. She also edited and contributed to

84-406: A female, Calliope. Baron fathered the three cubs. In December 2015, a baby gorilla, Yola, was born at the zoo. She is the first child of Nadiri who was also born there. On June 20, 2017, the baby giraffe Lulu was born, standing 5'7" and weighing 149 lbs. The daughter of Tufani and Dave, she is a mixture of the reticulated and South African giraffe subspecies. Her naming rights were auctioned off at

112-602: A hunter in Columbus, Ohio , in 1951 and had raised him in their family home in Anacortes. Bobo drew many visitors to the zoo and was one of Seattle's main attractions in the years preceding the construction of Seattle Center and the expansion of major-league professional sports into the city. His popularity is credited with helping the zoo obtain funding to build a new primate house. Anthropologist Dawn Prince-Hughes spent many years working at Woodland Park Zoo and observing

140-698: A lid over Aurora Avenue and new exhibits to the east in Woodland Park. The plan was opposed by local residents and rejected in a citywide ballot initiative in November 1974. In 1975, David Hancocks , the then-director of the Woodland Park Zoo, redesigned the zoo's gorilla exhibit to form what became referred to as landscape immersion exhibits , in which animals would become immersed in landscapes that represented their natural habitats as closely as possible, while visitors would also be immersed in

168-659: A memorial was erected in the park to commemorate the July 27, 1923 speech delivered by President Warren G. Harding before a crowd of over 30,000 Boy Scouts who were gathered at Woodland for a national jamboree . It was one of the last speeches the president would give; he died six days later in San Francisco . The memorial was demolished in 1977, and the site now lies buried beneath the Woodland Park Zoo's African Savanna exhibit. The memorial's only surviving elements—two life-sized bronze statues of Boy Scouts that once saluted

196-669: A preface introducing each author, her own essay, and a conclusion with recommendations for universities as well as a bibliography with additional information resources. She did not edit the essays written by the students. According to a review by Nancy McCray in Booklist , "Sharing their trials and tribulations, these adults offer their communities a certain expertise, especially in libraries and universities, where people with such conditions are often successful." Eartha Melzer writes for Foreword Reviews , "Their challenges are diverse; their stories are engaging; and in many cases their writing

224-545: A scientific précis of Gorilla gorilla gorilla behavior. She wants to tell a story." In a review for Booklist , Marlene Chamberlain writes, "In reading this book, it is hard not to empathize with a species often referred to as our closest relative. However scientific her observations, Prince-Hughes clearly developed a nonverbal rapport with the gorilla family, and the book has some sadness but much joy." In Aquamarine Blue 5 , Prince-Hughes collected personal essays by college students with autism about their experiences, wrote

252-425: Is connected to the zoo by arched bridges over the highway and often called Lower Woodland Park, consists of trails, an off-leash dog park, a picnic area, ballfields, a pitch and putt golf course, horseshoe pits , skate park , and lawn bowling , and is contiguous with Green Lake Park . The park is home to many species of birds and mammals as well as a few reptile and amphibian species. The most notable species are

280-541: Is excellent." The personal essay written by Prince-Hughes for Aquamarine Blue 5 became the basis for her memoir, Songs of the Gorilla Nation . In a review for The New York Times , Natalie Angier writes that the book "is as much a rhapsody to gorillas as it is an anatomy of autism. It was through getting to know the gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle as an adult that Prince-Hughes began to feel, for

308-538: Is the editor of the essay collection Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism . Prince-Hughes was raised in Carbondale, Illinois by her mother, who was a homemaker, and her father, who was a heating and air-conditioning serviceman. In her memoir Songs of the Gorilla Nation , Prince-Hughes describes her childhood experience with symptoms of undiagnosed autism , dropping out of high school, and then becoming "technically homeless." She met

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336-627: The Association of Zoos and Aquariums , and ranks second after the Bronx Zoo in New York City for the number received. Woodland Park Zoo created what is generally considered the world's first immersion exhibit , a gorilla habitat, which opened in the late 1970s under the direction of zoo architect David Hancocks. Other exhibits include: Woodland Park Zoo has been an active member of environmental and ecological conservation efforts across

364-598: The Oregon Zoo , government agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and conservation organizations on recovery projects for many threatened and endangered species, such as the Oregon silverspot butterfly, and western pond turtle . Woodland Park (Seattle) Woodland Park is a 90.9-acre (36.8 ha) public park in Seattle 's Phinney Ridge and Green Lake neighborhoods that originated as

392-804: The western coyote , rabbit , barred owl , and Red-eared slider (released turtle). The most common bird species are: American crow , American goldfinch , American robin , Anna's hummingbird , bald eagle , barn owl , barred owl , Bewick's wren , black-capped chickadee , bushtit , European starling , house finch , hairy and downy woodpeckers, northern flicker , Oregon junco , rock dove , spotted towhee , Steller's jay , various gulls, various sparrows, various swallows, and various waterfowl. The most common mammal species are: coyotes , coypus , feral rabbits , brown rats , western gray squirrels , mountain beavers , and North American beavers . The most common reptile and amphibian species are: red eared sliders, spring peepers and garter snakes. In 1925,

420-505: The U.S. Besides operating its own educational programs for school children, the park also cooperates with many of the higher education institutions in state, such as the University of Washington . On January 5, 2010, the zoo announced that due to the "difficult economy," it would be closing its Night Exhibit. ZooTunes, a summer concert series, has been held at the zoo since 1983 and raises funds for various zoo programs and activities. For

448-590: The acquisition, only to be later overruled by the city council . In 1902, the Olmsted Brothers firm of Boston was hired to design the city's parks, including Woodland Park, and the next year the collection of the private Leschi Park menagerie was moved to Phinney Ridge . An expansion of the zoo was approved in 1968 as part of the Forward Thrust ballot measures and resulted in a master plan designed by architect George Bartholick, which included

476-520: The criteria for personhood, serving as models of gentle care, protectiveness, acceptance, and love." In a review for Library Journal , Corey Seeman writes, "Her relationship with gorillas is valuable in showing her journey toward reengagement with others, but lengthy descriptions of gorilla behavior bog down her story. Despite this shortcoming, the book is recommended for academic and public libraries with disability and ASD collections." Prince-Hughes and her partner Tara Hughes, an English professor, have

504-541: The essay collection Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism , published in 2002. Gorillas Among Us is based on a year of observations by Prince-Hughes of a family of gorillas in a zoo. In a review for the Journal of Anthropological Research , Vicki K. Bentley-Condit writes, "This book is, indeed, an unusual approach to nonhuman primates, and it is somewhat anthropomorphic and nonscientific as well. However, Prince-Hughes did not set out to write

532-499: The estate of Guy C. Phinney , lumber mill owner and real estate developer. Phinney died in 1893, and in 1902, the Olmsted Brothers firm of Boston was hired to design the city's parks, including Woodland Park. The park is split in half by Aurora Avenue N. ( State Route 99 ). Its western half is mostly given over to the Woodland Park Zoo and also has a baseball field and children's playground. Its eastern half, which

560-455: The event, the zoo's North Meadow is turned into an outdoor amphitheater that accommodates 3,700 attendees. From 1953 to 1968, Woodland Park Zoo was home to Bobo , a western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla , the same species as the gorillas currently living at the zoo). Bobo was acquired from the Lowman family of Anacortes, Washington , who had purchased the gorilla as an infant from

588-423: The first time, connected, safe, understood." In a review for Booklist , Nancy Bent writes, "The author's accounts of her early childhood are intensely moving as she describes how she viewed her world and how she tried to deal with it. What makes this book unique is the author's discovery of the gorillas at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, and how she learned about personal relationships, the need for companionship, and

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616-471: The gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for the first time at age 20, and her detailed study of the behavior of the gorillas was noticed by the zoo research director. She became employed by the zoo, and ultimately spent a total of 12 years studying the gorillas. Prince-Hughes was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at age 36. In 1987, she started working on her bachelor's degree. She completed her PhD in interdisciplinary anthropology through

644-566: The image of Harding—were relocated to the headquarters of the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Dawn Prince-Hughes Dawn Prince-Hughes (born 1964 ) is an American anthropologist , primatologist , and ethologist . She is the author of several books, including Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days and her memoir Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism , and she

672-437: The need for a group to belong to by watching them." A review for Publishers Weekly states, "By quietly, calmly watching the gorillas interact, Prince-Hughes learns about emotions like love, anger, concern and humor—feelings she could never understand in the purely human world." Kirkus Reviews writes, "She developed deep empathy with these primates, referred to here as "gorilla people" because in her view they fulfill all

700-419: The same replicated habitat. The habitat was designed with natural plants and rockwork, with special consideration being put towards the acoustic treatment of the exhibit to make the environment soft and quiet. Initially the idea was heavily criticized, with many experts being concerned about the maintenance of vegetation and lack of visibility, as well as the temperate environment of Washington negatively affecting

728-420: The soil. The idea eventually became the standard for naturalistic exhibits, inspiring many imitators and replicas worldwide. As of the summer of 2010, the zoo featured 92 acres (37 ha) of exhibits, public spaces, parking, and playgrounds. Open to the public daily, it received 1.05 million visitors in 2006. Its collection includes: Woodland Park Zoo is a recipient of several Best National Exhibit awards from

756-526: The western lowland gorillas there, which she wrote about in her book Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism . Two lionesses named Busela (Seyla) and Nobuhle (Nabu) were transferred from the zoo to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah , to breed with the Montgomery Zoo 's two male lions, Baron and Vulcan. On February 24, 2016, Nabu gave birth to two males, Brutus and Titus, and

784-460: The zoo's Jungle Safari Party fundraiser. A male snow leopard cub was also born at the zoo that summer; he was given the name of Aibeck, meaning "long life" in Kyrgyz . In July and October 2022 two brown bear cubs, Juniper and Fern, were transferred to the zoo from Alaska and Montana respectively. Both bears are female and were orphaned as young cubs. The Woodland Park Zoo works in collaboration with

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