San Francisco Zoo & Gardens
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The mission of San Francisco Zoo is to connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature and advance conservation action.
Videos
Take this moment to enjoy the sweet sounds of Little Mebo munching on a sunny day, courtesy of keeper Christina! Our red panda's diet consists primarily of fresh bamboo leaves and shoots, which she receives daily. Her diet is supplemented with a variety of fruits, with apples being her favorite treat. She also receives a specially formulated, complete lifecycle chow designed to meet the nutritional needs of leaf eating animals, providing the high fiber diet they require. Fun Fact: A Mostly-Vegetarian Carnivore Although red pandas eat mostly bamboo, they are classified as carnivores because they belong to the biological order Carnivora. This classification is based on their biological order, not their diet. Over time, red pandas adapted to a primarily bamboo-based diet, making them one of the few members that are mostly herbivorous.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens14,895 görüntüleme • 12 gün önce
It’s a chick! We are excited to announce the successful hatching of our first Chilean flamingo chick in 9 years. The fluffy white chick, which can be seen with its’ mother on their nest mound in the flamingo habitat, is so far, doing well and drinking the crop milk, a nutritious, bright red liquid that is produced by both male and female parents. The dad, who is never far away, also shares parenting duties with mom. Last weekend, staff observed the egg pipping, which is the natural hatching process when the chick starts breaking through the shell. If the chick needed extra help, staff would step in to assist, however, this would be a last resort as it’s best to allow it to complete this natural milestone with minimal disturbance. This wee chick hatched all on its own. We previously posted about the manmade mounds bird staff created in anticipation of breeding season and the special substrate brought in for this purpose. The flamingos took it upon themselves to settle on a spot to build their own nest mounds, and a number of eggs are currently being incubated. Bird staff caution that some eggs may not be viable, or accidents happen, like an egg may be accidentally damaged during normal nesting activity. We won’t know how many chicks emerge, but the first one is a good sign! And of course, the good news is that this breeding season was all about the flamingos displaying their natural behaviors, and the result is adorable!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens15,168 görüntüleme • 19 gün önce
We recently shared the news of our male wolverine Edward’s groundbreaking eye procedure. As part of his recovery, he is given a series of eye-drops on a daily basis. Many of you asked, how do you give eye drops to a wolverine? One of his caretakers, Sammy, demonstrates here how it’s done! As you can see, Edward is trained to take the drops, and can opt out if he chooses to. Thanks to our training and behavior team, working with our carnivore staff, for their efforts to make this necessary treatment easy for both keeper and wolverine!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens99,578 görüntüleme • 8 ay önce
There is nothing quite like seeing and hearing a sloth drink water! Our 16-year-old male Linne’s two-toed sloth, Mooney P. Finch, is seen lapping up refreshing water from his water bowl in a video taken by his caretaker Elyse. In fact, while sloths do drink water, they get the majority of their hydration from what they eat, including fruits and leaves.🦥
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens15,429 görüntüleme • 27 gün önce
A happy 50th birthday to Henry! Henry is a red-footed tortoise, and resides in our South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary. His birthday “cake” was made up of his favorite fruits on a bed of dandelion greens and Belgian endive. Look how excited he was! Yum!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens70,620 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
By chance, bird keeper Liz happened upon Orville, our 7-year-old male Temminck’s tragopan, performing a full courtship display! Orville was named after Orville Redenbacher because he pops (like popcorn) straight up in the air if anyone gets too close. He’s done that ever since he was a juvenile. For tragopans, it is the male that primarily performs these elaborate courtship displays to attract females. Here, they do so by inflating their blue and red throat lappets or bibs, and the blue, horn-like projections above the eyes to appear more vibrant. The display includes bowing, fanning tail feathers and finally, he would hide behind rocks or logs, before approaching the female. The display also includes whistles and low-booming sounds. Quite a performance!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens42,357 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
Belated birthday wishes to our own Ladybug Lotusflower, our now 19-year-old female caiman lizard who was treated to her favorite food – ground turkey (and yes, in the shape of a heart, aww!). Even though her caretakers garnished her plate with a pretty star-shaped mango, she ignored that, oh well! Happy Birthday Ladybug Lotusflower! Yum! She looked so satisfied after eating her tasty treat!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens36,628 görüntüleme • 7 ay önce
Male orangutan Berani was recently given a blanket that is actually a waterproof dog bed blanket, and is a made from a material that is new to him! Orangutans use blankets for a variety of reasons – from using them as a head covering, as warmth or comfort, and in building a nest area. A blanket is a form of enrichment, and also something to play with. In the wild, orangutans often use materials like large leaves in the same way.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens19,626 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
A favorite enrichment for the Golden Gate Park bison are Christmas trees! During the holiday season, zoo caretakers present untreated trees to the bison, which are a big draw for them, as they engage with the trees by tossing them in the air, and play and play! Side note: we do not accept Christmas trees for Zoo animals and the park’s bison, as they must remain untreated and pesticide-free for safety and health reasons. Thanks for understanding.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens26,071 görüntüleme • 7 ay önce
We are celebrating the amazing tapir today, and honor our own male Baird’s tapir, Pacha, on this World Tapir Day! Known as the “gardeners of the forest,” tapirs are herbivorous and play an important role in ecosystem health as seed dispersers where the four species of tapir are found in rainforests, cloud forests and swamps of Central and South America as well as Southeast Asia. As odd-toed ungulates, they are also evolutionarily related to rhinos and horses (and not pigs). Tapirs are endangered, with numbers declining due to habitat loss, deforestation and hunting. You can often see Pacha swimming in his pool – tapirs love the water and are excellent swimmers, using his prehensile snout as a sort of snorkle, which he also uses to grab leaves, fruit and browse.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens11,671 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
More Big Game treats with red panda, Little Mebo, scoring some snacks.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens13,210 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
As we announced several weeks ago, 41-year-old female chimpanzee, Twiggy, is slated to move to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore very soon to join a new troop. Her caretakers presented her, and males Gombus and Nick, with an early luck o’ the Irish farewell party to both recognize St. Patrick’s Day, with favorite treats and goodies, including fruit juice and sugar cane, and to celebrate all-things Twiggy! Her departure is bittersweet, as she will be missed by all. Be sure to come by and visit her before she departs.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens10,322 görüntüleme • 4 ay önce
A cool treat for a cool orangutan. Listen (and watch!) as Berani enjoys a fruit popsicle!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens17,302 görüntüleme • 10 ay önce
Happy Valentine’s Day! Love is certainly in the air (love of treats, anyway!)
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens10,345 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
Giant anteater Jade found something tasty!
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens14,078 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
It’s Save the Rhino Day, and we are sharing fascinating facts about rhinos from the caretakers of our own two rhinos, black rhino Boone, and Gauhati, our greater one-horned rhino. Today, learn about the endangered greater one-horned rhino. Rhinos can run up to 34 mph over short distances, running on their toes! They’re known for their keen sense of smell and hearing, but they apparently have poor vision. Greater one-horned rhinos live in northern India and southern Nepal, in riverine (floodplain) grasslands and adjacent woodland. They are also semi-aquatic, spending a significant amount of time in or near water. You can often find Gauhati in his pool! The recovery of the greater one-horned rhino is a conservation success story. Thanks to strict protection by government authorities in India and Nepal, rhino populations have rebounded from fewer than 100 individuals to more than 4,000 individuals today. Many describe these rhinos as "armor-plated" but they are just covered in a layer of skin that has many folds. The folds and the rich blood supply in the subcutaneous fat may contribute to thermoregulation, helping the rhino regulate its body temperature in different weather conditions. You can see Gauhati in the outdoor habitat of the Pachyderm Building, across from Penguin Island. He is fond of his enrichment, including giant balls and toys
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens12,036 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce