Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium The only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest. Experience the Pacific Northwest's only combined zoo and aquarium. Learn more at www.pdza.org.
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Experience unforgettable up-close encounters with a polar bear, sharks, tigers and more. Enjoy close encounters with animals and keepers. There's always something new to see and do and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a facility of Metro Parks Tacoma.

01/25/2025

New besties!💕 Muskox Willow meets new muskox pal Pretzel for the first time. See the adorable duo together during your next visit. 🥨🍃

📹: Conservation Engagement Manager Wendy

01/23/2025

New besties! 💕 This morning, one-year-old muskox Willow was officially introduced to one-year-old Pretzel in the large Tundra habitat, and it was a success! The adorable duo have been seen grazing and exploring together. Guests can now see Pretzel and Willow together in their shared habitat starting today.

This morning, one-year-old muskox Willow was officially introduced to one-year-old Pretzel in the large Tundra habitat, ...
01/23/2025

This morning, one-year-old muskox Willow was officially introduced to one-year-old Pretzel in the large Tundra habitat, and it was a success! The adorable duo have been seen grazing and exploring together. Guests can now see Pretzel and Willow together in their shared habitat starting today.

Hi, Pretzel! 👋🥨📷: Keeper Russell
01/23/2025

Hi, Pretzel! 👋🥨

📷: Keeper Russell

01/22/2025

Makara, our prehensile-tailed skink, is enjoying some tasty greens! 🥬 Hanging the romaine in her habitat is a good way to get the soon-to-be 15-year-old to eat her leafy greens, and it also helps her tiny teeth and gum health. Able to consume a variety of plants, Makara doesn't shy away from a good snack!

📹: Keeper Dana

01/22/2025

Pretzel, our adorable and spirited muskox, is perfecting her headbutting skills with some playful bops against her hay feeder.

📹: Keeper Kelsie

01/21/2025

At 22 years old, Scooter is one fit Southern three-banded armadillo! His secret? One Fast Cat exercise wheel. Staff Biologist Jessie shares that Scooter “loves it and runs on it all the time.” You’re an inspiration to us all, little buddy! 💨

01/21/2025

Throwback to Rio as a young penguin chick. After fighting an infection, fuzzy Rio was cared for and hand-fed behind the scenes. Rio is now 3 1/2 years old and thriving at Penguin Point with the colony. 🐧

01/21/2025

Happy ! 🐧 Join keeper Noelle as she feeds our Magellanic penguin waddle. The penguins are fed sustainable seafood, like herring and capelin. About 27 inches tall, Magellanic penguins are about in the middle of the penguin height range.

Pom-Pom, our curlyhair tarantula, only has eight eyes for you! ❤️ These tarantulas have dense curly hair covering their ...
01/19/2025

Pom-Pom, our curlyhair tarantula, only has eight eyes for you! ❤️

These tarantulas have dense curly hair covering their bodies and never have a bad hair day. This not only gives them a striking appearance, but also plays a role in their survival. When threatened, they kick up their hairs at the predators (likely aiming for the eyes to blind them). But don’t worry, the Central American species is extremely docile (and cute). With a mild venom potency, they’re a great choice to destigmatize spiders and showcase how incredible they are! 🕸️

📸: Keeper Ariel

01/19/2025

Sound up to hear adorable meerkat vocalizations from Frick, our 11-year-old male meerkat, while he inspects his recycled Christmas tree for enrichment. Frick turns 12 on Feb. 3! The median life expectancy for meerkats in human care is 10 years.

📹: Keeper Lisa

Our new muskox, Pretzel, underwent her first wellness exam at the Zoo today with head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf, assoc...
01/18/2025

Our new muskox, Pretzel, underwent her first wellness exam at the Zoo today with head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf, associate veterinarian Dr. Kadie Anderson, and team. The one-year-old muskox had blood drawn to assess her overall health and her hooves were trimmed. Pretzel will soon be introduced to Willow, born at the Zoo in September 2023. Willow and Pretzel are both too small to share the same space as our male Hudson, who weighs around 800 pounds. We’re optimistic that Willow and Pretzel will quickly bond, explore their habitat, and play together on the grassy hills. As the young muskoxen grow, we plan to have all four muskoxen eventually share the same space.

01/16/2025

Willow, the playful muskox, catching her breath after zoomies around her large habitat! 💨

Hi, Freya! 👋 To camouflage in the treeless tundra in the wild, Arctic foxes are brown in summer and turn white in winter...
01/16/2025

Hi, Freya! 👋 To camouflage in the treeless tundra in the wild, Arctic foxes are brown in summer and turn white in winter to blend in with the snow. ❄️

📸: Keeper Noelle

01/13/2025

Sound up for puppy howls! Today kicks off the first full moon of 2025, which is known as the Wolf Moon. 🌕 Wolves communicate visually in sophisticated ways, using body posture, facial expressions, and tail positions. Audible communication is the howl, which bonds the pack, helps them reassemble, and is sometimes just for play. This video is of our American Red Wolf pack last year when the pups were learning to howl.

01/12/2025

Our otterly adorable duo, Arista and Javin, love snuggling together in cozy wood wool. As the smallest of the world’s 13 otter species, Asian small-clawed otters are very vocal and use at least 12 different vocalizations to communicate.

📹: Keeper Katie

Roano our rescued Central American boa exploring his habitat using his long tongue to “taste” the air. The snake rapidly...
01/12/2025

Roano our rescued Central American boa exploring his habitat using his long tongue to “taste” the air. The snake rapidly flicks its tongue out to collect scent particles from different areas. 🐍

📷: Keeper Lisa

Our beloved Sven, the young Arctic fox who recently sustained a serious injury to his left knee, continues to show encou...
01/10/2025

Our beloved Sven, the young Arctic fox who recently sustained a serious injury to his left knee, continues to show encouraging progress! Sven tore all the ligaments in his knee and damaged his meniscus, requiring surgery by veterinary surgeons Dr. Heiser and Dr. Okrasinski last month. A surgical pin was placed to stabilize his knee during the first procedure. We are happy to share that Sven has successfully undergone a follow-up procedure to remove the surgical pin, marking a significant milestone in his recovery. He will remain in our animal hospital for another month to rest, recover, and receive specialized care and plenty of TLC from our dedicated veterinary and animal care teams.

This type of injury is rare—none of our Arctic foxes in decades of care have ever experienced it—but we are grateful for the expertise and dedication of everyone involved in ensuring Sven’s well-being. Stay tuned for more updates on Sven’s healing journey and his eventual reunion with Freya, our female Arctic fox. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our team, we are still optimistic that Sven will make a full recovery and regain good use of his leg.

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5400 North Pearl Street
Tacoma, WA
98407

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Videos

New besties!💕 Muskox Willow meets new muskox pal Pretzel for the first time. See the adorable duo together during your next visit. 🥨🍃 📹: Conservation Engagement Manager Wendy

Young muskox Pretzel meets new pal Willow! 💕
Young muskox Pretzel meets new pal Willow! 💕

New besties! 💕 This morning, one-year-old muskox Willow was officially introduced to one-year-old Pretzel in the large Tundra habitat, and it was a success! The adorable duo have been seen grazing and exploring together. Guests can now see Pretzel and Willow together in their shared habitat starting today.

Sea cucumber snack time! 🧡 The orange sea cucumber uses its tentacles to capture food in the water. When a tentacle becomes full of food, the sea cucumber moves it to its mouth, cleans it, and then extends it back.

Makara, our prehensile-tailed skink, is enjoying some tasty greens! 🥬 Hanging the romaine in her habitat is a good way to get the soon-to-be 15-year-old to eat her leafy greens, and it also helps her tiny teeth and gum health. Able to consume a variety of plants, Makara doesn't shy away from a good snack! 📹: Keeper Dana

Pretzel, our adorable and spirited muskox, is perfecting her headbutting skills with some playful bops against her hay feeder. 📹: Keeper Kelsie

At 22 years old, Scooter is one fit Southern three-banded armadillo! His secret? One Fast Cat exercise wheel. Staff Biologist Jessie shares that Scooter “loves it and runs on it all the time.” You’re an inspiration to us all, little buddy! 💨

Throwback to Rio as a young penguin chick. After fighting an infection, fuzzy Rio was cared for and hand-fed behind the scenes. Rio is now 3 1/2 years old and thriving at Penguin Point with the colony. 🐧 #PenguinAwarenessDay

Happy #PenguinAwarenessDay! 🐧 Join keeper Noelle as she feeds our Magellanic penguin waddle. The penguins are fed sustainable seafood, like herring and capelin. About 27 inches tall, Magellanic penguins are about in the middle of the penguin height range.

Sound up to hear adorable meerkat vocalizations from Frick, our 11-year-old male meerkat, while he inspects his recycled Christmas tree for enrichment. Frick turns 12 on Feb. 3! The median life expectancy for meerkats in human care is 10 years. 📹: Keeper Lisa

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