30 medicinal leeches hatch at Woodland Park Zoo

About 30 medicinal leeches hatched at the Woodland Park Zoo, officials announced earlier this week.

Zoo officials said the leech hatchlings are the offspring of multiple adults the zoo rescued four years ago.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confiscated the leeches from a person traveling from Russia to the U.S. The person tried to smuggle in more than 40 adult leeches in water bottles.

The zoo received 22 more adult leeches from U.S. breeders.

“Woodland Park Zoo works closely with wildlife agencies as a partner for consultation and providing a safe home for reptiles, spiders, and other animals on a case-by-case basis, and in this case, leeches,” said Erin Sullivan, an animal care manager at Woodland Park Zoo. “We’re very excited about the newest members to our zoo family!”

The new leeches will take about two to three years to reach their adult size at about 6 inches.

Animal keeper Megan Blandford said the zoo feeds their leeches blood-filled sausages and they don’t need to be fed often.

“After an initial feeding immediately after hatching, the leeches will be fed only four times a year. But in the wild they regularly go an entire year without eating,” Blandford said.

The zoo said the leeches are among the many animals born or hatched at the zoo since the pandemic.

The leeches will be in the Bug World exhibit at the zoo, which is temporarily closed. For visitor information click here.

Cox Media Group