Do you know about Woodland Park Zoo?

The Woodland Park Zoo has a long history dating back to 1893. The zoo park began as part of the estate of Guy Phinney, a wealthy Englishman who established the park on the banks of Green Lake in Seattle. Deer were the first creatures to reside in the park, as is customary in an English park. The park was extended after Phinney’s death, and a collection of animals from the Lake Washington Cable Railway were relocated to the new site.

The Woodland Park Zoo has grown from humble beginnings to a thriving tourist destination that attracts over one million people each year. Woodland Park Zoo has 1,100 animals representing approximately 300 different species, with a mission similar to that of many other zoo parks to safeguard animals and their ecosystems through conservation leadership and engaging experiences, encouraging people to learn, care and act. The Woodland Park elephants, out of all the creatures at the zoo, have recently received a lot of media attention.

Elephants at Woodland Park Zoo

Bamboo and Chai, two Asian elephants, reside at the Woodland Park Zoo. Over their four decades at the zoo, these elephants had outlived two previous elephants (Hansa and Watoto). Residents of Seattle have banded together to urge the zoo to retire Bamboo and Chai to a sanctuary and terminate the elephant program, citing the zoo’s shady past with elephant health and treatment. The zoo authorities have proposed expanding Bamboo and Chai’s area in response.

It is important to note that seven times on In Defense of Animals’ list of “Top 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants,” the Woodland Park Zoo has earned a spot in the “Hall of Shame” for repeat offenders. Taking the public’s input into account, as well as this very infamous classification, it raises the issue of whether a larger cage would even begin to improve the elephants’ circumstances in Woodland Park.

Concerns about animal welfare at Woodland Park Zoo

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) represented the taxpaying people of Seattle in a lawsuit against the zoo in 2010. The case was filed against the city of Seattle to prohibit the illegal use of taxpayer funds to subsidize the Woodland Park Zoo’s reckless and illegally cruel treatment of its elephants.

Final thoughts

The Woodland Park Zoo acknowledges that these are the grounds of the Treaty of Point Elliott signatories.

Woodland Park Zoo is a 92-acre zoological landscape dedicated to wildlife protection that has won national awards. A visit to Woodland Park Zoo, which has over 1,000 animals from nearly 300 species from around the world, will make your day and a difference.

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