San Diego Zoo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
San Diego Zoo

Entrance to the zoo with sculpture Rex's Roar, after the lion that inspired the zoo
Date opened	1916 (Precursor Panama–California Exposition in previous year)
Location	Balboa Park, San Diego, California, U.S.
Land area	99 acres (40 ha)
Coordinates	32°44′10″N 117°09′05″W / 32.73611°N 117.15139°W / 32.73611; -117.15139
No. of animals	3,700+
No. of species	650+ (incl. subspecies)
Annual visitors	4 million (2018)
Memberships	AZA, AAM, WAZA
Major exhibits	Absolutely Apes, Children's Zoo, Elephant Odyssey, Panda Trek, Lost Forest, Monkey Trails, Polar Bear Plunge

The San Diego Zoo is a famous zoo located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. It is home to over 4,000 animals from more than 650 different types of species and subspecies. The zoo covers about 100 acres of land.

The zoo is run by a private, non-profit group called San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. This group is one of the biggest zoo membership organizations in the world. It has over 250,000 families and 130,000 child members.

The San Diego Zoo was one of the first zoos to create open-air exhibits. These exhibits look like the animals' natural homes, without cages. For many years, the zoo was famous for its giant pandas. It had the largest group of giant pandas outside of China. The pandas were sent back to China in 2019.

With over 4 million visitors in 2018, the San Diego Zoo is the most visited zoo in the United States. Many travelers also say it is one of the best zoos in the world. The San Diego Zoo is a member of important zoo groups like the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance also runs the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

History of the San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo started after an event called the 1915 Panama–California Exposition. When the event ended, many exotic animals were left behind. Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth decided to create a zoo. He founded the Zoological Society of San Diego on October 2, 1916. He was the president of the society until 1941.

Dr. Wegeforth was inspired when he heard a lion roar at the 1915 Exposition. He thought, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a zoo in San Diego? I believe I'll build one."

In August 1921, a permanent area in Balboa Park was set aside for the zoo. The city owned the animals, and the zoo managed them. The zoo started moving to this new location the next year. They also got animals from a closed amusement park. Ellen Browning Scripps paid for a fence around the zoo. This allowed the zoo to charge an entrance fee to help pay for its costs. The zoo's magazine, ZooNooz, began in 1925.

Frank Buck, an animal collector, became the zoo's director in 1923. He was recommended by William Temple Hornaday, the director of the Bronx Zoo. But Buck and Wegeforth didn't get along, so Buck left after three months.

After a few other short-term directors, Wegeforth chose the zoo's bookkeeper, Belle Benchley, to lead the zoo. She became the official zoo director a few years later. She was the director from 1925 to 1953. For most of that time, she was the only female zoo director in the world.

The San Diego Zoo was a leader in building "cageless" exhibits. Dr. Wegeforth wanted to use moats instead of fences from the start. The first lion exhibit without wires opened in 1922.

Until the 1960s, kids under 16 could enter the zoo for free.

The zoo's Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES) started in 1975. It was created to help animals that are in danger of disappearing. In 2009, CRES became the Institute for Conservation Research.

The world's only albino koala in a zoo was born at the San Diego Zoo on September 1, 1997. It was named Onya-Birri, which means "ghost boy" in an Australian Aboriginal language. The San Diego Zoo has the largest group of koalas outside of Australia.

In 2014, a group of African penguins arrived at the zoo. They moved into the Africa Rocks exhibit when it opened in 2017.

In October 2020, two gorillas hit the glass of their home, but luckily, only the outer pane was damaged.

Animal Escapes at the Zoo

The San Diego Zoo has had some famous animal escapes over the years. The most well-known was Ken Allen, a Bornean orangutan. People called him "the hairy Houdini" because he escaped so many times!

In 1940, a Malayan Tapir named "Terrible Trudy" escaped several times.

In 1977, a Tasmanian devil escaped and was found in a garage in San Diego. An animal control officer safely returned it to the zoo.

In March 2013, two striped hyenas got out of their area during a party. They were quickly given a sedative and taken back to the animal hospital.

In 2014, a koala named Mundu climbed out of its home into a nearby tree. Zookeepers waited until the park closed and then gently guided him back.

In early 2015, two Wolf's guenon monkeys got out of their Lost Forest exhibit. One of them went near a highway, but was safely brought back.

Adira, a 2-year-old female red panda, is also a bit of an escape artist! On January 29, 2023, she climbed a tree in her home and was out for six hours. Luckily, Adira stayed close by and was easily led back. The zoo thinks she might have been looking for a mate, as January is the start of red panda breeding season. The San Diego Zoo is working to breed red pandas because they are endangered. There are fewer than 10,000 left in the wild. Adira and Lucas welcomed their first baby cub on June 9, 2023. This was the first red panda baby at the San Diego Zoo since 2006!

Zoo Features and Fun

The zoo offers a guided bus tour that covers about 75% of the park. There is also an overhead gondola lift called the Skyfari. It gives you an amazing view of the zoo from above! The Skyfari was built in 1969.

Many exhibits at the zoo are designed to look like a specific habitat. For example, an exhibit might show many different animals that live together in the wild. It also includes the plants found in that area. Exhibits can be anything from an African rain forest (where you can see gorillas) to the Arctic taiga and tundra (where polar bears live). The zoo has some of the biggest free-flight aviaries in the world, like the Owens Aviary. Many exhibits are very natural, using hidden wires and pools for large animals.

The San Diego Zoo also runs the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This park is about 30 miles northeast of the zoo. It has much larger, open areas for animals than the zoo's 100 acres. The exhibits are mostly themed around Asia, Africa, and Australia. The biggest exhibits are huge "savannas" that are 100 to 200 acres. These areas have grassy hills, canyons, and lakes. This helps the animals feel more at home. This natural approach has helped the Safari Park have great success in breeding animals. Animals are often moved between the zoo and the Safari Park to keep their family lines healthy. The San Diego facilities also trade animals with other zoos around the world. This is part of a plan to help save different species.

San Diego has one of the largest and most varied animal collections in the world. Over the last 20 years, the total number of animal species has gone down a bit, from about 860 to 650. This is because exhibits are being made larger and more natural. Also, some animals are being moved to the Safari Park.

California's sunny weather is great for many plants and animals. Besides its large collection of birds, reptiles, and mammals, the zoo is also a arboretum. This means it has a collection of rare plants. The zoo is also a certified botanical garden. It has over 700,000 exotic plants! The zoo even grows special foods for some of its rare animals. For example, they grew 40 types of bamboo for the pandas when they were visiting from China. They also grow 18 types of eucalyptus trees to feed their koalas.

Explore the Exhibits

Monkey Trails and Forest Tales

Monkey Trails shows off primates and other animals from the tropical rainforests of Asia and Africa. It opened in 2005. This area replaced older exhibits that were built in the 1930s. Those old exhibits had small, plain cages. Monkey Trails is much more natural and fun for the animals.

Monkey Trails is home to monkeys like the Angola colobus, lion-tailed macaque, and mandrill. You can also see a pair of pygmy hippopotamus named Elgon and Mabel. They share their pond with African cichlids and tilapia. On April 9, 2020, Mabel gave birth to Akobi, a male pygmy hippo calf. This was the first pygmy hippo born at the zoo in almost 30 years!

As you walk through Monkey Trails, you can also see West African slender-snouted crocodiles, different reptiles, and various African freshwater fish. These animals live in exhibits that are full of plants. Some exhibits are two stories high, with stairs and walkways. This lets you see the animals from the ground or from the treetops, just like in their natural homes. The area also has huge Banyan fig trees and carnivorous plants like Venus flytraps.

Owens Aviary

The Owens Aviary is home to about 200 tropical birds from around 45 species. Most of these birds come from places like Australasia, Oceania, and Papua New Guinea. The aviary is built into the side of a tall canyon wall. You can enter at the top or bottom. A walkway inside goes up and down with the natural slope. The steep location is perfect for the exhibit's waterfall. The waterfall flows downhill and creates a misty, humid environment. This makes you feel like you're walking through a lush, dense jungle.

The aviary is filled with plants like palms, ficus, and ferns. The birds you might see include the eclectus parrot, Victoria crowned pigeons, Bali mynas, and Indian Peafowl.

Scripps Aviary

The Scripps Aviary was built in 1923. It houses many colorful birds from Africa. You can see birds like the violet-backed starling, African grey parrots, great blue turacos, and African spoonbills.

Parker Aviary

The Parker Aviary has various birds from South America. These include Andean cock-of-the-rocks, keel-billed toucans, and toco toucans. You might also spot golden lion tamarins here. The San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of birds in North America.

Asian Passage

The San Diego Zoo used to be one of only four zoos in the U.S. that had giant pandas. It was very successful at helping pandas have babies. The first two giant panda cubs born in the U.S. to survive to adulthood were born here: Hua Mei (in 1999) and Mei Sheng (in 2003). After that, three more cubs were born: Su Lin, Zhen Zhen, and Yun Zi. Xiao Liwu, meaning "little gift," was born in 2012. By 2015, all the cubs had been sent back to China to help with their breeding program.

In April 2019, the giant panda exhibit closed. The pandas returned to China after helping with conservation efforts. Now, this area shows other Chinese animals. You can see golden takins, red pandas, Amur leopards, snow leopards, and different types of bamboo.

In November 2023, China's President Xi Jinping suggested that giant pandas might return to the zoo. This would show that China is ready to keep working with the U.S. on panda conservation.

Urban Jungle

The Urban Jungle is home to different animals. You can see a small group of Masai giraffes, Red Kangaroos, American flamingos, and Indian rhinoceroses. Many of the zoo's animal ambassadors, like a binturong and fennec foxes, also live here.

Polar Bear Plunge

Polar Bear Plunge opened in 1996 and was updated in 2010. It features over 30 species from the Arctic. The main animals are three polar bears named Kalluk, Chinook, and Tatqiq. You can watch the polar bears swim in their huge 130,000-gallon pool from an underwater viewing area.

Other animals in this area include reindeer. The exhibit also has giant redwood trees and many different pine trees.

Nearby, you can find mountain lions, maned wolves, Arctic foxes, and giant anteaters. Eagle Canyon is home to large birds like Andean condors and harpy eagles.

Wildlife Explorers Basecamp

Opened in 2022, the Wildlife Explorers Basecamp was built where the old Children's Zoo used to be. It lets kids get closer to animals and has fun, interactive play areas. There are four main zones that show animals from different ecosystems: Desert Dunes, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows, and The Rainforest.

The Rainforest zone has animals like Naked Mole Rats, sloths, caracals, and ocelots. Desert Dunes features black-tailed prairie dogs and fennec foxes. Wild Woods is home to squirrel monkeys and coatis.

Hummingbird Habitat

This small aviary is home to three types of hummingbirds: the Anna's, Costa's, and Amazilia hummingbirds. You can also see other South American birds like bananaquits and paradise tanagers. Visitors can watch the birds from a special bridge.

Spineless Marvels

The McKinney Spineless Marvels exhibit shows off many amazing invertebrates. You can see Madagascar hissing cockroaches, leafcutter ants, Goliath beetles, and different kinds of mantises. There are also giant African millipedes, giant desert hairy scorpions, and many types of tarantulas. You can even see stick insects and western honey bees!

Cool Critters

This two-story building houses fish, invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians. Some of the cool critters here include axolotl, Chinese giant salamanders, Fiji banded iguanas, and leopard geckos. You can also see different types of fish like freshwater angelfish and Lake Malawi cichlids.

Reptile Walk

The Reptile Walk has outdoor areas for European species like European pond turtles and ocellated lizards. Another area has African species like radiated tortoises. The Komodo Kingdom is a new exhibit for the zoo's Komodo dragons.

As you walk, you'll find a building with two sides. One side has homes for amphibians like the Amazon milk frog and many types of poison dart frogs. The other side has native Californian species like the Colorado River toad and California kingsnake.

Further along, you'll see an area for the endangered Chinese alligator. Then, there's a building with many different turtles, including broad-shelled river turtles and pig-nosed turtles.

Nearby is the gharial pond, where you can see these long-snouted crocodiles with various turtles. The Reptile Walk ends with large yards for Asian forest tortoises, Galápagos tortoises, and leopard tortoises.

Reptile House

This building has a beautiful Spanish-style design. It's home to many reptiles like Mertens' water monitors, king cobras, Gila monsters, and different kinds of rattlesnakes. You can also see colorful snakes like emerald tree monitors and green tree pythons.

Lost Forest

The Lost Forest exhibit is based on the real Ituri Forest in Africa. It opened in 1999 and shows different animals from the rainforests of central Africa. The exhibit starts with a forest area for okapi and African Buffalo. Then, you'll see a recreation of huts with information about the Mbuti people. Next, the path leads to the hippopotamus exhibit, where you can see Funani and her daughter Amahle. This area also has an underwater viewing spot.

After the hippos, you'll walk through bamboo before reaching an area with aviaries. You can see red river hogs, Allen's swamp monkeys, and spotted-necked otters. The otters have a creek where they can swim, and you can watch them both above and below the water.

Elephant Odyssey

This exhibit opened in 2009. Its main feature is a huge 2.5-acre home for elephants. This is more than three times bigger than the zoo's old elephant area! Currently, there are five elephants: three African bush elephants and two Asian elephants. Elephant Odyssey also lets you look into the past. It has statues of ancient creatures that used to live in Southern California, like the Columbian mammoth and the saber-toothed cat. You can see these ancient statues next to exhibits of their modern-day relatives.

The Fossil Portal is a fake tar pit that shows man-made bones from the Ice Age. You'll see exhibits for jaguars and African lions. There's also an exhibit with Linnaeus's two-toed sloths. You can watch the elephants in their large wading pool. The path continues along the pool, passing the jaguar exhibit. The elephant pool drains into a mixed-species exhibit with Baird's tapirs and capybaras. You can also visit the Elephant Care Center to watch keepers take care of these huge animals.

Next, you'll see an exhibit for secretary birds. The path then goes down into a crevasse with small homes for dung beetles. You can walk under the elephant exhibit to the other side. Here, you'll find a creek for native reptiles and amphibians. There are also exhibits for dromedary camels and guanacos. The path then splits, leading to a playground, a rattlesnake terrarium, and a California condor aviary.

Gorilla Tropics

Gorilla Tropics opened in 1991 and looks like the rainforests of central Africa. It has a large 8,000-square-foot home for western lowland gorillas. The exhibit has waterfalls, a grassy area, and tropical plants like bamboo. You can watch the six gorillas from a viewing window or across a creek. Nearby, you'll find the bonobo habitat. There are also aviaries with many colorful birds like crowned eagles, raggiana bird-of-paradise, and Bali mynas.

Absolutely Apes

This exhibit opened in 2003. It is home to three female Sumatran orangutans and one male infant named Karen, Indah, Aisha, and Kaja. You can also see three siamangs named Unkie, Eloise, and their daughter Selamat. Their home is 8,400 square feet and has a large glass viewing window.

The exhibit has sway poles and fake trees for the apes to swing on. There's also a fake termite mound where they can "fish" for treats. The viewing area is designed to look like the animals' side of the exhibit, with rubber mulch and small sway poles for kids. You can also see silvery lutungs in this area.

Sun Bear Forest

This exhibit opened in 1989. It features Bornean sun bears, Angola colobus, François' langurs, White-Handed Gibbons, and Warthogs. One part of the complex has lion-tailed macaques in a grassy area with a stream. The sun bear exhibit goes along the path, and an aviary houses birds like the Asian fairy-bluebird. Further down the path, you can see grizzly bears, spotted hyenas, spectacled bears, and African clawless otters.

Tiger Trail

Tiger Trail is in a sloping canyon and opened in 1988. It is home to three Malayan tiger brothers: Conner, Cinta, and Berani. From the top of the canyon, you can see many aviaries with birds like Asian fairy-bluebirds and blue-crowned laughingthrushes. There are also exhibits for fishing cats and rare coconut crabs.

Further down, you'll find exhibits for Malayan tapirs and North Sulawesi babirusas. The tiger habitat is a large 1/4-acre area with a hillside stream, waterfall, and a glass viewing window.

Outback

A new Australian Outback area, also called "Koalafornia," opened in May 2013. The San Diego Zoo has the largest group of koalas outside of Australia. It also has the biggest collection of Australian wildlife in America. The new area has twice as much space for koalas, including more outdoor areas. This is because koalas need sun exposure to stay healthy.

The new area also has other Australian marsupials, like parma wallabies. You can also see Australasian birds such as kagus, laughing kookaburras, and palm cockatoos. Since October 2013, the exhibit also houses Tasmanian devils. The San Diego Zoo was the first American zoo to have them.

Africa Rocks

Conrad Prebys's Africa Rocks shows the amazing variety of life in Africa. This exhibit opened on July 1, 2017, and cost $60 million to build. It replaced an older area called Dog and Cat Canyon.

The exhibit has six different habitats:

Cape Fynbos

The Cape Fynbos exhibit features African penguins, which are an endangered species from South Africa. The exhibit looks like the giant granite boulders found on Boulders Beach in South Africa, where these birds live. It has a huge 200,000-gallon pool for the penguins. A group of 20 penguins moved in on June 22, 2017.

The penguins share their exhibit with leopard sharks and other fish. The sharks arrived from SeaWorld San Diego. Leopard sharks eat small creatures from the bottom of the ocean, so they don't harm the penguins.

Acacia Woodland

The Acacia Woodland exhibit has a leopard area, a group of vervet monkeys, and an aviary. The leopards here are Amur leopards, which come from far away places like Russia and Northern China. Amur leopards are critically endangered, with only about 60 left in the wild. The San Diego Zoo helps breed these rare cats to save them. The zoo has both spotted and black leopards.

The aviary in this exhibit has two types of bee-eaters, as well as many other bird species like African silverbills and golden-breasted starlings. You can also see Mozambique girdled lizards in the aviary.

Madagascar Forest

The Madagascar Forest exhibit is home to different types of lemurs. These include blue-eyed black, red ruffed, and ring-tailed lemurs. The zoo helps these lemurs because they need help to keep their populations healthy.

Along with lemurs, the Madagascar Forest exhibit also has the lemurs' main predator, the fossa, and honey badgers.

Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands exhibit has two types of primates: the gelada and the hamadryas baboon. The San Diego Zoo is one of only two zoos in North America to have geladas. A group of male geladas arrived from Germany in 2016. This move was part of a program to help save geladas. The exhibit is also home to Nubian ibexes.

Kopje

The word kopje means "small head" in Dutch. It describes the rock formations that stick out in the savanna. Kopjes are homes for animals that are good at climbing rocks, like klipspringers. Their feet are specially made to cling to the rocks. The exhibit also has southern ground hornbills, bateleur eagles, and meerkats. You can also see the red-leaved rock fig, a tree that grows on rocky kopjes.

West African Forest

The West African Forest exhibits the West African dwarf crocodile, Madagascan big-headed turtle, and West African mud turtle. Behind the crocodile exhibit is Rady Falls, a 65-foot tall waterfall. It's the largest man-made waterfall in San Diego!

Conservation Efforts

The zoo works hard to protect animals and save species. Its Institute for Conservation Research helps many animals. These include California condors, tigers, black rhinos, polar bears, orangutans, African penguins, Tasmanian devils, and clouded leopards. They work with 145 other endangered species.

Because of their efforts, the zoo has reintroduced over 30 endangered species back into the wild. They have also helped protect habitats in 50 different places. More than 200 conservation scientists work for the zoo in 35 countries around the world. They have many experts who study genetics, cells, and animal health.

The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is the biggest zoo-based research program in the world. It is located next to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Over 200 scientists do important research to help save animals, plants, and their homes, both locally and globally.

Zoo Corps: Helping Kids Learn

Zoo Corps is a volunteer program at the San Diego Zoo for high school students. Students aged 13 to 17 teach visitors about the animals and why conservation is important. The program helps students learn to speak in public. It runs all year in two sessions. Zoo Corps members volunteer at least once a month.

The program uses "Kits" that are set up on tables around the zoo. These kits have objects that help explain why an animal is endangered or how it lives. The four kits are "Backyard Habitats," "Saving Species," "Animal Care," and "Sustainability."

Zoo Architecture

Local architect Louis John Gill designed the zoo's first buildings, cages, and animal grottos. Later, in 1926, he designed the Spanish Revival-style research hospital. Gill also designed a bird cage at the zoo in 1937, which was the largest bird cage in the world at that time.

Awards and Recognition

The San Diego Zoo has won many awards for its exhibits, programs, and efforts to help animals reproduce and for conservation. For example, in 1961, it won an award for the first koala birth in the Western Hemisphere. In 1992, it won an award for its Gorilla Tropics exhibit. The zoo has been recognized for its work in saving many species, including Jamaican iguanas and Sumatran rhinoceroses. In 2010, it won awards for its Elephant Odyssey exhibit and for its marketing. The zoo continues to be recognized for its important work in conservation around the world.