Journal Highlights

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance won top honors at the 136th annual Rose Parade® Presented by Honda with a float commemorating the historic arrival of giant pandas. For the second consecutive year, the Alliance received the Sweepstakes Trophy given for most beautiful entry, encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment.

It’s beginning to look, taste, and feel a lot like the holidays at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. From spectacular lighting displays to jolly entertainment, the Zoo and the Safari Park are decked out in their seasonal finery and are ready to spread the spirit of the season—and the joy of celebrating wildlife conservation. As you enjoy the festive treats and attractions, you’ll also have the chance to find just the right gift for everyone on your list—including something special for you, too.

For most American families, Thanksgiving dinner is the belt-busting dining event of the year. At this meal, the average person gobbles down 1 pound of turkey, plus stuffing, pie, and seemingly endless “trimmings,” adding up to around 4,500 calories. But for some wildlife species, that doesn’t even add up to an appetizer. Whether you opt for a big meal with all the trimmings or a simple celebration with family and friends, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving filled with joy and plenty of good food.

A few hundred years ago, the sound of the Hawaiian rainforest was filled with the vibrant and diverse songs of Hawai‘i’s unique avifauna. Over time, the forest has become increasingly quiet as Hawaiian forest birds continue to experience sharp population declines due to human impact. One of the biggest threats to native forest birds has been the introduction of invasive mosquitoes, which carry avian malaria and avian pox virus. Today’s challenge is not only to prevent further losses among Hawaiian forest birds, but also to find innovative ways to help these birds return to the forests and thrive like they once did.

Amazing creatures, bats come in a range of shapes and sizes big and small. They have a variety of sleeping habits, feeding habits, and anatomical features. Bats extend their arms and spread their fingers wide to fly through the sky. Many produce sound and then use their large ears or unique facial features to capture the echoes that are reflected, helping to locate their prey and navigate their environment.

When you think of wildlife spending time in the water, you may think of expert swimmers including African penguins, leopard sharks, and otters. But some species just might surprise you with the reasons they take to rivers, lakes, and other waterways. Read on to discover how wildlife makes a splash regardless of the weather.

For decades, river hippos have played a big role for our organization. In 1936, guests were awed by the arrival of the San Diego Zoo’s first river hippo, Puddles, a one-year-old genial giant who actively sought attention and often turned somersaults in his pool. Few people at the time had seen this species “in person,” and his presence helped keep the Zoo’s gates open during the lean years of the Great Depression. Rube and Ruby arrived as a pair four years later, and were still living there in the early 1980s. Since then, numerous other river hippos have come to live—and reproduce—at the San Diego Zoo, becoming ambassadors of sorts for hippos in their native habitat.

Mothering comes in a wide variety of forms, whether it’s how a species approaches it or how individuals take on a role. Across the globe, wildlife follows their instincts to teach, nurture, encourage, and lead their little ones. It can be a team effort and an individual journey. There’s no limit to what “mom” means to wildlife, just as there’s no limit to what “mom” can mean for us. In the world of wildlife, mothering comes in many forms. Just as in our own lives, there’s biological moms, adoptive moms, foster moms, and individuals that step up to take care of the young ones that need it.

If you’ve ever experienced the birth or adoption of a loved one, or a reunion with a long-lost relative, you may remember what it’s like to anticipate the moment when you finally get to meet them. The excitement surrounding what they might look like, what kind of personality they’ll have, and the thought of bonding with them creates joyful anticipation almost as memorable as the event itself. Part of what’s so thrilling is knowing that it’s just the first of many memorable moments yet to come—moments that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Pollinators are an incredible group of animals that ensure the health of our ecosystems by helping plants to reproduce. In a world that tends to focus on the “charismatic megavertebrate,” it’s often surprising to learn that the smallest animals are the real powerhouses of pollination. If this doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider that 1,200 crops and over 180,000 species of plants require pollination, and without pollinators like these specialized insects— specifically bees, flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths—life as we know it would cease to exist. Pollination dates back millions of years, and among the first animals on record to pollinate were beetles. Pollination may seem a bit like a happy accident, and to the pollinating animal, it’s merely a consequence of gathering resources. Even so, it’s also the result of millions of years of plant and animal coevolution refined to increase efficiency!

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. SDZWA has a nearly 30-year conservation partnership with research collaborators in China focused on protecting and recovering giant pandas. These collaborative efforts have had a significant impact—including, increased scientific understanding of giant panda biology, care and wellness, and what pandas need to thrive in a changing climate—contributing directly to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List downgrading the giant panda from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2021. But there is still much more work to do to secure their safe future.

In July 2023, just weeks before International Tiger Day, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (and parents Diana and Dumai) welcomed two Sumatran tiger cubs. The cubs—a male and female—were born on July 12, and we were well aware of the significance of their arrival, as it had been seven years since the Safari Park’s last tiger cub birth. This was a joyous outcome for a collaborative project that paired our team of carnivore specialists with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Program (SSP), to support the propagation of this incredible species. The current SSP population consists of 67 animals (30 males, 37 females) in managed care at 28 AZA facilities. The process—and logisitics—of wildlife conservation are governed by strict protocols, but there are still facets that can defy predictability.