From tots to adults, the community has helped Woodland Park Zoo achieve its highest attendance ever in 2014: 1,276,314. The total attendance surpassed record-breaking attendance in 2013 by nearly 16,000.

“The number of people passing through our gates for a zoo experience is affirmation that Woodland Park Zoo is a special place for many to experience wonder and joy while connecting with wildlife and nature,” said Dr. Deborah Jensen, President and CEO of Woodland Park Zoo. “We are grateful to the children and adults alike who join us on our journey to help create a future in which animals and people can co-exist and thrive together.”

The zoo wrapped up the year with its highest attendance to WildLights presented by KeyBank, which drew 84,500 to its third annual winter lights festival. More than 40,800 music fans swayed to jazz, folk and bluegrass at the 31st annual BECU ZooTunes presented by Carter Subaru summer concert series.

Woodland Park Zoo is committed to involving the community in actions and policies that will preserve wildlife in the Northwest and throughout the world. Through its Community Access Program, the zoo provided more than 40,000 tickets annually to local agencies that aid lower-income groups and underserved communities, connecting all members of the Seattle community to nature.

There was much to be celebrated in 2014, including these highlights: Throngs of Twelves came to see the Asian small-clawed otter pups named after the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom. Guests lined up wall-to-wall to watch the popular grizzly bear brothers dive into their 20th birthday party present¾a truckload of snow from Crystal Mountain Resort. Thousands saw spots at the temporary exhibit for cheetahs, a first-time experience for many to see these elegant cats up close. The zoo’s colony of prolific Humboldt penguins hatched its 41st chick since the breeding season began in 2010, offering even more beak-to-beak encounters for penguin buffs. Guests welcomed newcomers to the African Savanna: giraffe Dave and lion Xerxes. A female baby porcupine tickled visitors with her dancing quills and was the star turn in the zoo’s most viewed video of the year. And, to cap off the year, triplet lions were born and a new male red panda arrived, giving hope to ensuring healthy populations of these species into the future.

More exciting opportunities are in the pipeline for the coming months, said Jensen.

“In the heart of the zoo, we open a new Malayan tiger and sloth bear exhibit in May, which finalizes a 2-acre complex and integrates the new exhibits with the Asian small-clawed otter exhibit, aviary and kids’ nature play area,” added Jensen. A new conservation action center, the first of its kind at the zoo, will directly engage visitors in the cultural and scientific challenges of conserving wildlife throughout Central Malaysia where Woodland Park Zoo is working with partners to research and protect wild tigers. “Our hope is to inspire visitors with up-close animal encounters, hands-on learning, and connections to meaningful actions that visitors can take to build a better future for wildlife.”

As temperatures warm up and they become more mobile and agile, the lion cubs will make more appearances on the African Savanna, with a regular viewing schedule by late February at the earliest. In May, after an absence of two decades, a pair of maned wolves, the largest canids of South America, will return to the zoo. Other key species coming include tropical girdled lizards, pancake tortoises, Andean cock-of-the-rock and spotted tanagers.