Headquartered in a biodiversity hotspot, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance applies our knowledge and experience to saving wildlife in our own backyard. Deserts and scrublands are dry and hot, especially during the summer. Many animals survive by resting in protected hideaways or underground burrows during the heat of the day.

We manage a 900-acre biodiversity reserve adjacent to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which supports a diversity of coastal sage scrub and chaparral wildlife. Our team works closely with wildlife officials in the US and Mexico to recover plants and animals and preserve habitats across the region, which supports a variety of endemic wildlife, including the Quino checkerspot butterfly, desert tortoise, and western burrowing owl.