Tracing Retrovirus through the Generations for Conservation and Health

Mom means a lot of different things in the world of wildlife.

Technology is making a powerful difference in the world of conservation, and our teams are at the forefront.

Donut miss new tasty treats to start your morning at the San Diego Zoo.

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 9, 2024) – To apply cutting-edge technology to the conservation of koalas, San Diego Wildlife Alliance is partnering with Illumina, a leading genomic sequencing technology company, through the Illumina iConserve program to sequence the whole genomes (an individual’s complete set of DNA) of nearly 100 koalas residing in North America over the past 30 years. Whole genome sequencing is integral to learning more about Koala Retrovirus, KoRV – a virus that can insert into the koala genome and is associated with various health issues in koalas including immunosuppression and cancer.

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 1, 2024) – Today San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance participated in the 135th Rose Parade^® presented by Honda with a float celebrating the San Diego Zoo’s 107-year history. The float themed “It Began With a Roar” depicted iconic wildlife from the Zoo, including Rex the lion, whose mighty roar sparked a dream more than a century ago and inspired the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. 

The "Black Summer of Fire" in 2019-2020 was devastating for koalas in Australia's Blue Mountains. A collaborative recovery effort is underway.

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.