At a quiet, off-view area at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, wildlife care staff are celebrating a momentous milestone—the hatching of an endangered lappet-faced vulture chick.

In light of recent news, we at San Diego Zoo Global assure you that the health and safety of our employees, our community and the wildlife in our care remains our top priority. As you have come to expect, we have many strong biosecurity practices already in place to prevent the spread of disease between wildlife and wildlife care team members. 

A koala moved quickly out of a caretaker’s arms and up into a tall eucalyptus tree, while wildlife care specialists looked on. This koala is a member of an important group of the species that returned to their home in the Blue Mountains of Australia this past weekend. 

An 8-month-old koala joey being cared for round the clock by San Diego Zoo wildlife care specialists is thriving. The male koala joey, named Omeo (pronounced Ooh-me-ooh), lost his mother due to cancer in mid-December, when he was about 5-and-a-half months old and was still in her pouch.