If it looks like a duck, swims like an otter, and lays eggs, it's the platypus! Get an in-depth look at this freshwater-loving mammal.

Some species that spend time in the water just might surprise you.

Outcome-based Care practices are creating a whole new world for the species in our care.

When it comes to pollinators, most people think of bees, butterflies, and birds, gracefully flitting from flower to flower. But do you think about bats, mice, lemurs, and mongooses?

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.

What’s the buzz about pollinators? Here’s a look at how mighty these tiny species are.

Leap Day only happens once every four years. Explore which extraordinary wildlife leap, jump, spring, and everything in between.

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 19, 2023) – For more than a decade, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s entomology team has collaborated with Australia’s Melbourne Zoo to maintain populations of the critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insect. For the first time in North America, visitors to the San Diego Zoo will have the opportunity to see these rare, nocturnal insects in a specialized habitat at the Zoo’s Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 6, 2023) – The Endangered Species Act turns 50 years old this year. A new report released by the Endangered Species Coalition, Ten Stories of Hope: The Endangered Species Act at 50, highlights 10 case studies of conservationists using different strategies to protect and recover imperiled fish, birds, plants and mammals in the United States. Ninety-nine percent of species protected under the Endangered Species Act have been saved from extinction, including the humpback whale, grizzly bear and bald eagle. The Top Ten report features the Stephens’ kangaroo rat and the efforts of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to help recover the species using conservation translocation.

It takes a team and some careful observation to keep the San Diego Zoo's colony of 25 black-and-white African penguins in the pink.