SDZWA Stories

Seemingly outfitted in sleek tuxedos—from their webbed toes to the tip of their flippers—African penguins are always dressed for the occasion. For Lucas, a four-year old penguin at the San Diego Zoo, snazzy new shoes are taking his dapper look to the next level. However, the rubber and neoprene booties aren’t “statement” shoes. In fact, they’re quite the opposite. Lucas’s new orthopedic footwear could be the key to helping him fit in with his colony.

While a large portion of the Sumatran tiger population lives within the protection of national parks, up to 70 percent of Sumatran tiger habitat lies outside this protected area network. This means that substantial numbers of Sumatran tigers may live in heavily isolated, non-protected, marginal habitats—leading to a high incidence of interaction with people.

Physician scientist. Wildlife conservationist. Visionary leader. Family
man. The inimitable Dr. Kurt Benirschke (“Dr. B”) was a trailblazer—passionate about gathering and sharing knowledge to make the world a better place for both people and wildlife. Whether he was sneaking vital veterinary medicine through Checkpoint Charlie into East Germany or flying through a raging thunderstorm in a single-engine plane to pick up chromosome samples in Paraguay, Dr. B was dedicated to solving problems and exploring ideas that would transform both human and veterinary science.

In 1969, Charles L. “Chuck” Bieler had just started as group sales manager in the marketing department at the San Diego Zoo when a young Joan Embery, who worked in the Children’s Zoo, offered to introduce him to one of the big cats. After some trepidation, he agreed. Walking away from that encounter, he confided to a colleague that he had never petted a lion before. When she realized he wasn’t joking, she whispered back, “I know you are new to the Zoo, Chuck, but the cats with stripes are tigers."

A baby giraffe, called a calf, can stand up and walk about an hour after it comes into the world, front feet first. At least, it should be able to. That wasn’t the case with Msituni (see-TOO-nee), a giraffe born at the Safari Park February 1, 2022. Matt Kinney, DVM, senior veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and his team were quick to respond. “Our wildlife care specialists and veterinary team have worked with a number of giraffe calves, and we were quickly able to recognize that this calf needed our help,” he said.

Cameroon’s Ebo forest is one of the last remaining sites inhabited by forest elephants in the entire Gulf of Guinea biodiversity hotspot—the area of tropical Central Africa to the northwest of the Congo basin. Since we first established trail cameras in the forest in 2016, we have gathered a wealth of evidence of African forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis presence, despite the fact that the cameras are currently restricted to the relatively small area (approximately 40 square kilometers, or roughly 15 square miles) of the Ebo gorilla range.

Who can it be now? One look at two of the Safari Park’s newest residents—from their duck-like bills to their short legs, webbed feet, and otter-like tails—and it’s clear there is only one thing they can possibly be: platypuses Ornithorynchus anatinus. Since their debut in November 2019, this species is becoming more familiar to our visitors, and now it’s time to get to know the delightful duo, Birrarung (“Birra,” for short) and Eve.