NEWS RELEASES

SAN DIEGO (July 19, 2024) – The panda pair that arrived at the San Diego Zoo from China earlier this summer will make their eagerly awaited public debut on Thursday, August 8, the Zoo announced today. The two are the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years.

SAN DIEGO (July 9, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance proudly shares first-look photos of the highly anticipated panda pair as they continue settling into their new home at the San Diego Zoo. Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years, arrived safely in San Diego on the afternoon of June 27. They are acclimating well to their new home in a private habitat and will not be viewable to the public for several weeks.

SAN DIEGO (June 26, 2024) – A delegation of representatives from the United States, including leaders of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, joined esteemed dignitaries and conservation leaders earlier today in China at the China Conservation & Research Center for Giant Pandas in Sichuan province for a farewell ceremony honoring the two giant pandas coming to the San Diego Zoo.

SAN DIEGO (May 30, 2023) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance reintroduced a group of endangered Pacific pocket mice to a release site outside of active training areas on Marine Corps Installations West, Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, this initiative is part of an ongoing effort to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.

SAN DIEGO (May 17, 2024) – On the morning of April 12, 2024, the San Diego Zoo's Wildlife Care team was greeted with an exciting development. Meili (pronounced may-lee), an endangered François' langur under pregnancy observation for several months, gave birth to a vibrant orange infant overnight. This marks the Zoo's first François' langur birth since 2019, introducing a critical new member to the dwindling species population.

SAN DIEGO (May 14, 2024) – Today San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance hosted a “Toss the Tusk” event at the San Diego Zoo to raise awareness about the elephant poaching crisis and illegal elephant ivory trade. The event, organized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (AZA WTA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), encouraged the public to support long-term conservation efforts by surrendering unwanted elephant ivory items—including jewelry and art pieces—to ensure their availability does not drive demand. By removing elephant ivory products from the market, we can help keep these majestic animals alive for generations to come. This is the second year in a row that San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has hosted a Toss the Tusk event. In 2023, it was held at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

SAN DIEGO (April 29, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation and care team leaders recently visited China and met Yun Chuan (pronounced yoon chu-an) and Xin Bao (pronounced sing bao) the two giant pandas to be cared for by San Diego Zoo.

SAN DIEGO, PALM DESERT, Calif. (April 15, 2024) – Seventy critically endangered Mojave desert tortoises have successfully emerged from their winter burrows after being reintroduced into their native habitat on Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, the global authority on desert plant and wildlife conservation, are working in partnership with Edwards Air Force Base, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, using headstarting techniques designed to increase the survival rate for young tortoises. The cohort of young tortoises was the first in the program to be reintroduced into the wild after receiving a combination of an indoor- and outdoor-rearing. Within 24 hours of reentering their native habitat, the tortoises were exhibiting positive natural behaviors by constructing new burrows or modifying existing burrows for shelter. Now, six months later, they have emerged after winter brumation—a state of deep sleep specific to reptiles—and are spending more time basking at burrow entrances. Scientists are currently conducting health assessments and replacing radio transmitters on the tortoises to continue monitoring their success and better understand the juvenile age class.

SAN DIEGO (April 11, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has welcomed the 250th California condor to hatch at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The chick’s parents are Xol-Xol (pronounced “hole-hole”)—the first California condor brought into human care under the California Condor Recovery Program in 1982—and Mexwe (pronounced “mex-weh”). More than 40 years since the California condor population dropped to a low of just 22 birds, this milestone is a significant success.

LA JOLLA, Calif. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Love is in the water for the critically endangered Sunflower Sea Star as a team in California successfully spawned and cross-fertilized gametes from a male and a female, resulting in fertile eggs. This success marks another incredible step forward in an ongoing collaborative effort to save the species from extinction. This advancement took place at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, where their experts were joined by partners from the Aquarium of the Pacific, California Academy of Sciences, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) and Sunflower Star Laboratory.