Giant pandas are different from other bears—and so are their health challenges.

Caring for these much-loved bears is a privilege—and it is also a huge responsibility.

Wildlife Care Specialists put their passion for wildlife into daily practice.

30 Years of Hope, Friendship, and Collaboration for Giant Panda Conservation

SAN DIEGO (April 29, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation and care team leaders recently visited China and met Yun Chuan (pronounced yoon chu-an) and Xin Bao (pronounced sing bao) the two giant pandas to be cared for by San Diego Zoo.

SAN DIEGO (Feb. 22, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) took an important step forward in having giant pandas return to the San Diego Zoo by signing a cooperative agreement with China Wildlife Conservation Association and filing a permit application with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These resourceful insects turn fresh leaves into an edible fungus garden.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been committed to elephant conservation and protection for decades, and is developing innovative approaches to elephant care in San Diego and in Africa.

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 17, 2022) – Orphaned animals of several mammal species suffer socially and physiologically, and even if their mother dies after weaning, they may have lower survival than non-orphans. One physiological consequence of orphaning – stunted growth – had been discovered in humans and chimpanzee orphans.  A new study, published recently in the journal Conservation Physiology, shows that orphaning also stunts the growth of African elephants by an estimated average of 13 centimeters.

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 4, 2022) — The San Diego Zoo has announced the birth of a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth at the Zoo’s new Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp. The baby sloth was born June 25 to mother Xena (pronounced Zee-na), who was born at the Zoo in 2013 and is one of the Zoo’s most popular Rady wildlife ambassadors. Wildlife care specialists report that the young sloth is doing well, instinctively clinging to its mother, nursing and gaining strength each day.