Unspecified/General

In the bustling Phinney Ridge neighbourhood about four miles north of downtown Seattle, the Woodland Park Zoo is one of the most architecturally and ecologically progressive zoos in the United States. The 92-acre zoo traces its origins to 1899, when the small private estate of the Seattle real-estate developer Guy Phinney was acquired by the city following Phinney's death and converted into a public park, with a small collection of donated animals forming the original zoo around the same time. The zoo is widely credited as having pioneered the modern naturalistic-habitat approach to zoo exhibit design. In the 1970s the zoo's landmark Long-Range Plan called for the complete replacement of all the older small bar-and-concrete cages with large, naturalistic open-moated enclosures that replicate the ecosystems of the animals' native habitats. The first major naturalistic exhibit, the African Savanna (opened in 1980), was an immediate international sensation and established the design template that has since become the global standard for major zoo construction. The zoo today houses some 800 individual animals representing nearly 250 species, arranged across nine major themed bioclimatic zones. The African Savanna covers a comprehensive recreation of an East African plains ecosystem, with giraffes, zebras, hippopotamuses, ostriches and the celebrated lion family sharing several large multi-species enclosures. The Northern Trail (one of the most extensive bioclimatic zones in the zoo) covers the wildlife of the North American Rocky Mountains, with grey wolves, brown bears, mountain goats and elk in carefully landscaped recreations of high-Cascade habitats. The Tropical Rain Forest enclosed conservatory houses orangutans, gibbons and several species of small Amazonian primate in a meticulously climate-controlled environment. The Australasia exhibit features the celebrated Komodo dragon, several species of wallaby and the popular Stingray Beach interactive touch pool. A particular highlight is the Banyan Wilds exhibit, opened in 2015, which combines Malayan tigers, sloth bears and the celebrated Asian small-clawed otter colony in a carefully recreated South-East Asian forest landscape. A small carousel, a children's zoo and several family-oriented animal-encounter programmes round out the offering.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 5500 Phinney Avenue North, Seattle, WA, United States

Telephone: 206-548-2500

Website: zoo.org

Opening Date: 01/01/1899