Tiny crabs. Big impact. 🦀💙 Our conservation team, volunteers and students are helping monitor Dungeness crab larvae in Puget Sound as part of a regional community science project. The tiny larvae collected help researchers better understand future crab populations!

Meet Ricardo! 🦉✨ Throwing it back to this Close Encounter moment with our spectacled owlet before he officially had a name. Since then, our animal care staff have named him Ricardo, and we think it suits him perfectly! 📹: Veterinary Technician Bianca

Go behind the scenes or our all-new Fins of the Future Shark Tour! Get an exclusive look at shark care, aquarium operations, and how we’re helping restore endangered Indo-Pacific leopard sharks through global conservation efforts. pdza.org/tropical-reef-aquarium-behind-the-scenes

Bubble enrichment for 10-year-old walrus, Balzak! 🫧 📹: Animal care staff Kristyn

It's #SharkWeek! 🦈 Celebrate with a visit and meet Peanut and Butter, our Indo-Pacific leopard sharks, whose offspring are helping restore endangered shark populations through the StAR Project. From Tacoma to Indonesia, they're making waves for shark conservation! www.pdza.org/celebrate-sh...

River and Bronto are making the most of their day with plenty of zoomies, wrestling, and playtime! 🐺 These critically endangered American Red Wolves may look like they're just having fun, but play helps strengthen bonds, build important skills, and keep them active and engaged. 📹: Animal Curator Jen

Up close with Senya, our six-year-old siamang, enjoying a fresh, delicious Kiwi snack! 🥝 Their sharp canines allow them to easily pierce the tough outer shells of dense fruits that make up the majority of their diet. 📹 Animal care staff Katie

Happy #NationalZookeeperWeek to our incredible, hard-working animal care staff! Thank you for your passion, expertise, and dedication to providing exceptional care for the animals every single day of the year. We appreciate everything you do! 💙

Our animal care team finds fun, creative ways to help our animals stay cool in the summer heat! ☀️

Nothing says summer like frozen treats! ☀️ Our otter family is staying cool with enrichment ice treats packed with their favorite mealworms. 🦦 📹: Animal care staff Katie

Owen is making waves! 🦭 Our adorable California sea lion pup is now exploring the Rocky Shores habitat alongside mom Eloise and the harbor seals. Born June 1, Owen taught himself to swim by just 3 weeks old and is already winning hearts. 💙 www.pdza.org/sea-lion-pup...

Willow the muskox got a blue popsicle made of diluted Gatorade as a summer enrichment treat. She wasn’t too interested in eating it, but she was very enthusiastic about bouncing it on her head. 😂🧊 📹: Animal care staff Russell

Born on June 1, Owen is thriving alongside mom Eloise behind the scenes. The sea lion pup is nursing, growing stronger every day, and building confidence as he explores his world. Recently, he graduated to the larger behind-the-scenes pool, where he's even started meeting the harbor seals. 💙

The chorus is growing louder! 🐺🎶Our three-month-old critically endangered American Red Wolf pups are practicing their howls at our offsite facility. Howling helps wolves communicate with their pack, strengthen social bonds, and announce their presence across long distances.

Happy 14th Birthday to Nigel the coendou! 🎉 Cheers to 14 years of climbing, exploring, and plenty of snacks. 🍪 Nigel's prehensile tail acts like a fifth limb, helping him grip branches and navigate the treetops with ease.

Happy World Snake Day! 🐍 Snakes experience the world in some amazing ways! Meet Roano, our 19-year-old rescued Central American boa, and Mchanga, our 15-year-old sand boa. Stop by and discover just how incredible these often misunderstood reptiles really are. 💚

One-month-old sea lion pup Owen is still happily nursing! Sea lion pups typically nurse for 6 to 12 months before they're gradually weaned and begin eating whole fish like herring and capelin. For now, Owen is happy to stay close to his mom, Eloise, growing bigger and stronger every day. 💙

Celebrate Shark & Ray Awareness Day by coming face-to-face with some of the ocean's most fascinating species! Meet sharks and rays eye-to-eye, discover the amazing adaptations that make them such incredible animals, and learn how you can help protect sharks and rays in the wild. 🦈 pdza.org/dive

Strike a pose! 🐧 Meet one-month-old Magellanic penguin chicks Chimi, Churri and Malbec, serving up peak penguin cuteness. 📷: Keeper Kacie

Meet Chimi, Churri, and Malbec, named by their care team after traditional foods and drinks from their native range of Argentina and Chile. These growing, one-month-old Magellanic penguin chicks have reached a big milestone and are now eating whole fish all on their own! 🐧

🐧 Fish are officially on the menu! 🐟 Meet Chimi, Churri and Malbec, named by their care team after traditional foods and drinks from their native range of Argentina and Chile. These growing Magellanic penguin chicks have reached a big milestone and are now eating whole fish all on their own!

Our American Red Wolf pups have officially started eating meat, but every now and then, they still stop by for a quick nursing session with mom, Violet. 💗

Talk about perfect aim! 🎯 Assistant curator Shannon delivers a meatball straight into Sumatran tiger Bintang’s mouth during a keeper chat. 🐅

This week, we had the incredible honor of welcoming Harvey Drahos to Point Defiance Zoo! At 103 years old, Harvey is an Army veteran of World War II who served in the Battle of Okinawa, a Purple Heart recipient, an Olympia resident, and a lifelong animal lover.

Chill out with some of the Zoo's coolest residents! 🐻‍❄️🦭 Join us July 11–12 for Arctic Sea Ice Weekend! Watch polar bear Laerke, walruses Balzak and Lakina, muskoxen, and Arctic foxes enjoy special icy enrichments, hear keeper chats, and discover simple ways you can help protect Arctic wildlife. 💙🌎

Starting tomorrow morning, July 2, 15 handcrafted Art of the Game glass medallions will be hidden around the zoo grounds... and if you find one, it's yours to keep! 🏆✨ Watch this video for a few location hints, then put your searching skills to the test during your visit. 👀 Good luck!

Tiny but mighty! Meet June's aquarium highlight species, the sea gooseberry.🪼 This marble-sized comb jelly shimmers with rainbow colors as tiny hairs called cilia propel it through the water. Like other jellies, they lack a brain, heart, blood and bones. www.pdza.org/aquarium-hidden-gems/

The adorable two-month-old critically endangered Red Wolf pups recently received caribou hay for enrichment, giving them a chance to explore, play, and practice natural behaviors as they grow. ❤️

Neat find at the Tundra habitat! 🪹 Our keepers discovered an old bird nest woven with an unexpected mix of polar bear fur and muskox guard hair, some of which is shed alongside their incredibly soft qiviut each year. 📷: Animal care staff Russell

Ice, ice, baby, Bao! 🧊 It’s time for some cool enrichment behind the scenes. The small-clawed otter family received piles of ice to explore, and the tiny, happy otter hops may be the cutest thing you’ll see. 💖 📹: Animal care staff Katie