SAN DIEGO (May 10, 2022) – Today marks 50 years since the opening of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. While festive music played and Safari Park team members and entertainers welcomed guests, an unsuspecting visitor, 10-year-old Ethan Kemerling, and his parents, Stacy and Eric, were taken aside by Lisa Peterson, the Safari Park’s executive director. Peterson informed Ethan that he was the 50th guest to enter the Safari Park, and presented him with an oversized San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance lifetime membership card. This surprise gift allows Ethan, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota, to have unlimited visits to the Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo, where he can explore and connect with wildlife for years to come.

SAN DIEGO (April 22, 2022) – Percy the Porcupine puppet delighted guests when she made her San Diego Zoo debut, in celebration of Earth Day. She is an awe-inspiring prehensile-tailed porcupine that is 17 feet high. Percy was first unveiled in Los Angeles last month, before making her way to San Diego. Her first-ever appearance at the San Diego Zoo created unique moments of wonder for guests of all ages, aimed at further igniting their passion for wildlife and inspiring new wildlife allies.

SAN DIEGO – (April 12, 2022) San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced today that Erika Kohler will take over as the executive director of the 100-acre San Diego Zoo. Kohler has been a member of the organization since 2015, when she was hired as the Zoo’s director of operations—bringing nearly two decades of experience from her time with the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. She has served as the San Diego Zoo’s interim executive director since November 2021.

SAN DIEGO (March. 11, 2022) – Excitement filled the air at the San Diego Zoo today as a large crowd gathered to experience the newest and most anticipated opening in the nonprofit conservation organization’s history. Paul A. Baribault, president and chief executive officer of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, along with a group of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance team members, youth from across San Diego, and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, joined in a festive opening ceremony welcoming guest into the new Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.

SAN DIEGO (March 3, 2022) – This spring break, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park invites guests to celebrate in full color—with an escape into nature. Spring Safari Featuring Butterfly Jungle, March 19 through May 8, will allow guests to experience wildlife up close while enjoying the open spaces and stunning vistas of the Safari Park.

SAN DIEGO (Feb. 14, 2022) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservationists applaud the Australian government in declaring the koala an endangered species in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Koala populations in these areas have continued to show declines over the last decade. 

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 31, 2022) – This month, burrowing owls and prairie dogs at the San Diego Zoo moved to their new “digs” in the Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp. Orb weaver spiders began spinning new webs, and other wildlife like Fijian iguanas, axolotls and dragon-headed katydids are now acclimating to their new habitats in preparation for the public opening on Friday, March 11, 2022.

SAN DIEGO (January 27, 2022) – Western burrowing owls, a declining species in Southern California, are increasingly being forced from their homes by development. A research team led by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Palm Springs office, developed novel techniques using a bit of creative advertising to protect the displaced owls, including painting rocks to look like stains from bird droppings and playing recorded vocalizations.