Although the Zoo is closed to guests, the animals are still celebrating the holidays. Today (Dec. 21, 2020), wildlife care specialists created holiday wreaths and gave them to Akobi and Mabel, pygmy hippos at the San Diego Zoo.

A big celebration got underway this World Elephant Day (Aug. 12, 2020) at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as wildlife care specialists raised awareness of the plight of elephants worldwide, kicked off the Safari Park’s Kenya Days celebration set for this weekend (Aug. 14–16) and also celebrated the second birthday of male elephant calf Umzula-zuli, better known as “Zuli.”

Southern white rhino Edward turned 1 year old today (July 28, 2020), and a birthday celebration was held in his honor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center.

This week, just in time for the San Diego Zoo’s official reopening to the public on June 20, a 2-month-old male pygmy hippopotamus and his mother, Mabel, graduated from their maternity habitat to the larger main pygmy hippo habitat in the Lost Forest area of the Zoo.