50-569: SDZ may refer to: San Diego Zoo Serbian Railways , reporting mark SDŽ Shankar Dada Zindabad , an Indian film Split-Dalmatia County (Croatian: Splitsko-dalmatinska županija ), a county in Croatia Süddeutsche Zeitung , a German newspaper published in Munich, Bavaria Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
100-418: A Tasmanian devil escapee in a south-central San Diego home's garage. The animal was transported to the zoo and the zoo hospital staff took possession of the capture. In March 2013, the zoo, which was hosting a private party at the time, had to initiate a lockdown when two striped hyenas somehow got past their barriers. They were "darted with a sedative and taken to the veterinary care clinic." In 2014,
150-400: A koala named Mundu escaped to a neighboring tree just outside its Koalafornia Australia Outback enclosure. Zookeepers lured him down the tree once the park closed that day. In early 2015, two Wolf's guenons monkeyed around outside of their Lost Forest enclosure after escaping. One of the monkeys neared a fence line off of Route 163 , but was brought back to safety without injury. Adira
200-650: A Man Made Jungle , the memoir My Animal Babies , and the children’s book Shirley Visits the Zoo. Upon her retirement in 1953, the mayor of San Diego proclaimed “Belle Benchley Day” and a retirement dinner was attended by more than 800 people. In 2007 she was inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame . She was featured by the San Diego Union Tribune in their special 2021 section "Phenomenal Women: Executives and Entrepreneurs". She died at
250-597: A few efforts at landscaping these cages; however, the monkeys notably lived in bleak, "prison-cell" like cages. Several Zoo members and guests left comments over the years regarding the exhibits and their lack of plant life, the (apparent) lack of enrichment for the monkeys, and, mostly, the appearance of cement "cell blocks" as exhibits. Monkey Trails is home primarily to monkeys such as the Angola colobus , tufted capuchin , De Brazza's monkey , lesser spot-nosed monkey , Black mangabey , Wolf's mona monkey , and mandrill . There
300-402: A series of densely-planted paludarium - and riparium -style exhibits, complete with thick glass panels for close-up animal encounters. Monkey Trails utilized a newer concept for the displaying of arboreal animals; by making the exhibits two storeys high, with stairs, walkways, and elevators for access, the habits of animals can be observed from ground level as well as from the treetops. Some of
350-654: A son, Edward. They divorced in 1922. After a stint as a school teacher, she was hired in October 1925 by Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth , the president of the Zoological Society of San Diego , to serve as bookkeeper for the San Diego Zoological Garden. In October 1927 she was promoted to the top position in the zoo, that of executive secretary, in which position she served until her retirement in December 1953. Her title
400-644: Is a zoo in San Diego, California , located in Balboa Park . It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its founder, Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth . The zoo was a pioneer in the concept of open-air, cage-less exhibits that recreate natural animal habitats. The zoo sits on 100 acres (40 ha) of land leased from the City of San Diego. It houses over 12,000 animals of more than 680 species and subspecies . It
450-459: Is a 2-year-old female red panda, who also happens to be an escape artist. Over in Panda Canyon, Adira scaled a tree in her enclosure and escaped for 6 hrs on January 29, 2023. Luckily, Adira stayed close to home and was easily led back into her enclosure. A zoo social media account speculated, "January is the start of the panda's breeding season, which one could speculate may have been the reason for
500-483: Is also a pair of pygmy hippopotamus named Elgon and Mabel, who share their underwater-viewing pond with a large school of African cichlids and tilapia . On April 9, 2020, Mabel gave birth to Akobi, a male calf. His birth marked the first pygmy hippo born at the zoo in nearly thirty years. Throughout the walking paths, visitors can also see West African slender-snouted crocodiles , different reptiles, and various African freshwater fish; these different animals live in
550-408: Is built onto the side of an approx. 60' high canyon wall, being accessible via an entry/exit at the uppermost level and another at the lower end of the aviary (essentially the canyon floor). The walkway inside the aviary connects these entryways as it ascends and descends with the natural slope. The naturally steep location proves to be perfect for the exhibit's waterfall, which cascades downhill through
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#1732854687439600-515: Is situated next to a complex of 20 smaller aviaries previously known as Wings of Australasia, exhibiting tropical birds from Southeast Asia and the Pacific. San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of birds in North America. Together the zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park hold America's most diverse collection of hornbills, with 15 species displayed in 2014. The San Diego Zoo had been one of four zoos in
650-575: Is the most visited zoo in the United States; travelers have cited it as one of the best zoos in the world. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance , is a private nonprofit conservation organization and has one of the largest zoological membership associations in the world. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance also operates the San Diego Zoo Safari Park . The San Diego Zoo grew out of exotic animal exhibitions abandoned after
700-526: The Anna's , Costa's , and Amazilia hummingbirds, along with other birds from South America such as bananaquits , crested quail-doves , golden-collared manakins , blue-necked tanagers , green-backed trogons , opal-rumped tanagers , paradise tanagers , swallow tanagers , turquoise tanagers , screaming pihas , violaceous euphonias , green honeycreepers , purple honeycreepers , red pileated finches , spangled cotingas and pompadour cotingas . Guests can view
750-530: The Chengdu Zoo formed a Chinese delegation to the United States to carry a pair of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys to the San Diego Zoo for a 13-day exhibition of snub-nosed monkeys. This was the first time that golden snub-nosed monkeys were exhibited abroad. In November 2023, China's President Xi Jinping hinted at the return of giant pandas to the zoo as a "gesture that China is ready to continue cooperation with
800-841: The blue-crowned laughingthrush , white-rumped shamas , the maleo , Himalayan monal , Indian peafowl , and great argus pheasants. The Scripps Aviary was built in 1923 and is home to many colorful birds from Africa such as the violet-backed starling , African gray parrots , blue-bellied rollers , tambourine doves , great blue turacos , hamerkops , superb starlings , black-headed weavers , white-headed buffalo weavers , white-faced whistling ducks , African spoonbills , Madagascar crested ibises and southern bald ibises . The Parker Aviary houses various birds from South America including Andean cock-of-the-rocks , blue-crowned motmots , blue-headed macaws , crested oropendola , Inca terns , keel-billed toucans , ringed teals , sunbitterns and toco toucans as well as golden lion tamarins . It
850-697: The 1915 Panama–California Exposition . Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth founded the Zoological Society of San Diego, meeting October 2, 1916, which initially followed precedents set by the New York Zoological Society at the Bronx Zoo . He served as president of the society until 1941. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a zoo in San Diego? I believe I'll build one." A permanent tract of land in Balboa Park
900-559: The Division of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species under newly appointed director Allison Alberts to better reflect its mission. In 2009, CRES was significantly expanded to become the Institute for Conservation Research. The world's only albino koala in a zoological facility was born September 1, 1997, at the San Diego Zoo and was named Onya-Birri, which means "ghost boy" in an Australian Aboriginal language . The San Diego Zoo has
950-616: The Owens Aviary and the Scripps Aviary. Many exhibits are "natural", with invisible wires and darkened blinds (to view birds), and accessible pools and open-air moats (for large mammals). The San Diego Zoo also operates the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (formerly the San Diego Wild Animal Park), a nearly 2000-acre park located 30 miles northeast of the Zoo near Escondido , which features animals in more expansive, open areas than
1000-457: The Plunge include reindeer , arctic foxes , racoons , eurasian lynx and an underwater viewing area is available to observe the polar bears swimming in their 130,000-US-gallon (490,000 L) pool. Farther down the path lies an aviary with several species of diving ducks . Some of the horticultural highlights include giant redwood trees , many different pine trees , and manzanita . Just up
1050-593: The Safari Park. The temperate, sunny maritime climate of California is well suited to many plants and animals. The zoo is also an accredited botanical garden; the botanical collection includes more than 700,000 exotic plants. As part of its gardening effort, some rare animal foods are grown at the zoo. For example, 40 varieties of bamboo were raised for the pandas when they were at the zoo on long-term loan from China. It also maintains 18 varieties of eucalyptus trees to feed its koalas. Keepers and most other employees at
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#17328546874391100-417: The San Diego Zoo are members of Teamsters Union Local 481. Monkey Trails showcases primates and other animals native to the tropical rainforests of Asia and Africa. Opening in 2005, it replaced a decades-old area of exhibits known as Ape and Bird Mesa . These were some of the oldest animal "houses" still in use (at the time) at the San Diego Zoo, being built in the 1930s, with little to no change until
1150-464: The San Diego Zoo on June 13, 1923, signed to a three-year contract by Wegeforth. William T. Hornaday , director of the Bronx Zoo, had recommended Buck for the job, but Buck quickly clashed with the strong-willed Wegeforth and left the zoo after three months to return to animal collecting. After several other equally short-lived zoo directors, Wegeforth appointed the zoo's bookkeeper, Belle Benchley , to
1200-457: The U.S. on panda conservation." In June 2024, a pair of pandas, named Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, were loaned to the zoo. The two giant pandas made their debut at the San Diego Zoo on August 8, 2024. The Urban Jungle houses different animals including a small herd of Masai giraffes , Soemmerring's gazelles , American flamingos , a Grant's zebra , a miniature donkey and Indian rhinoceroses . Many of
1250-485: The U.S. that had giant pandas on display and had been the most successful in terms of panda reproduction. The first two giant panda cubs in U.S. history to have been born in the U.S. and survive into adulthood— Hua Mei (female, born to Bai Yun and Shi Shi ) and Mei Sheng (male, born to Bai Yun and Gao Gao )—were born at the zoo, in 1999 and 2003, respectively. After that, three more giant panda cubs— Su Lin and Zhen Zhen (both females) and Yun Zi (male) —were born to
1300-842: The Wildlife Explorers Basecamp was built on the site of the historic Children's Zoo, allowing children to get closer to several animals and also includes interactive play opportunities and sculptures. There are 4 main zones in the basecamp that feature wildlife that lives in the 4 main ecosystems: Desert Dunes, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows, and The Rainforest. The Rainforest includes Naked Mole Rats , Goats, binturong , Burmese star tortoises , sloths , caracals , ocelots , wombats , Brazilian porcupines and southern tamanduas . Desert Dunes includes black-tailed prairie dogs , burrowing owls , and fennec foxes . Wild Woods includes squirrel monkeys and coatis . A small aviary that, as of July 2022, includes three species of hummingbirds ,
1350-524: The Zoo's animal ambassadors live there including a binturong , southern ground hornbills , red kangaroos , fennec foxes , South African cheetahs and Cape porcupines . Polar Bear Plunge, which opened in 1996, and was renovated in March 2010, houses over 30 species representing the Arctic . The main animals in the area are the three polar bears, named Kalluk, Chinook, and Tatqiq. More animals that make their home in
1400-416: The aviary before splashing down into a large pond. The ambient white noise of the waterfall is quite noticeable, but relaxing and tranquil, rather than very loud. The waterfall churns up mist, and cool steam fills the aviary with ambient humidity; additionally, the outside of the structure is painted a dark green color, which helps to block any excess sunlight from penetrating inside. This further gives visitors
1450-825: The birds from an observation bridge, and the aviary also includes a cenote pool. Wattled jacanas can also be seen in the aviary. The McKinney Spineless Marvels features naked mole-rats and a large invertebrate collection consisting of Central American giant cave cockroaches , Madagascar hissing cockroaches , leafcutter ants , Goliath beetles , giant dead leaf mantises , ghost mantises , two-spotted assassin bugs , giant African millipedes , giant desert hairy scorpions , golden silk orb-weavers , Antilles pinktoe tarantulas , Brazilian black tarantulas , Mexican fireleg tarantulas , golden-eyed stick insects , goliath stick insects , jungle nymphs , thorny devil stick insects and western honey bees . This two-story building houses fish, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. Some of
1500-681: The budget increased more than sevenfold. She ran the Zoo during two trying eras, the Great Depression and World War II while writing and editing the Zoo's monthly ZooNooz magazine and making hundreds of presentations to groups all over Southern California. She served on committees of the American Zoological Association and was its first woman president; she was a member of the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens. She wrote several books, including My Life in
1550-548: The closing of Panda Trek, the exhibit had been repurposed to display other Chinese animals, including golden takins , red pandas , Mang Mountain pit vipers , Amur leopards , snow leopards and an exhibit comparing several types of bamboo. In November 1984, the Chinese Wildlife Protection Association, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Forestry, and
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1600-437: The demolition of Monkey Trails. In addition to a few small bird aviaries and a troop of siamang apes living on a treehouse in the center of a pond, the site was centered around two square buildings; these plain structures contained many small exhibits lined up, one after another, on all four sides. One of the buildings was focused on monkeys, while the other was mainly songbirds, parrots, and tropical avian species. There had been
1650-519: The feeling of walking through a lush, dense jungle. The entire aviary is lushly landscaped and thick with palms, ficus, Araceae species (such as Monstera deliciosa and Thaumatophyllum ), Clivia sp., ferns and many more varieties. The varied collection of bird life includes the Chinese hwamei , eclectus parrot , black-naped fruit doves , common emerald doves , red-billed leiothrix , Victoria crowned pigeons , Bali mynas , Nicobar pigeons ,
1700-422: The horticultural highlights of Monkey Trails include several massive Banyan fig ( Ficus ) trees (viewable in public areas as well as in animal exhibits), cycads , and a bog garden with Sarracenia , Drosera , Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants . The Owens Aviary contains about 200 individual tropical birds from around 45 species, mainly from Australasia , Oceania, and Papua New Guinea . The aviary
1750-466: The jailbreak." The San Diego Zoo is currently breeding the red pandas because of their status being labeled endangered on the IUCN Red List , there is thought to be less than 10,000 left in the world. Adira and Lucas said hello to their first little cub on June 9, 2023, this is the first baby red panda since 2006 for the San Diego Zoo. The hope for saving red pandas has also sparked lots of attention from
1800-461: The largest number of koalas outside of Australia. In 2014, a colony of African penguins arrived for the first time in the zoo since 1979. They have since moved into Africa Rocks when it opened in 2017. In 2016, Baba, the last pangolin on display in North America at the time, died at the zoo. In October 2020, two gorillas charged at the glass of their enclosure, damaging the outer pane. The San Diego Zoo has had several notable escapees through
1850-470: The path of Polar Bear Plunge is Northwest Passage, housing mountain lions , maned wolves , giant anteaters , Patagonian maras , gerenuk , bontebok , tufted deer , Grévy's zebras , musk deer , Cuvier's gazelle , lesser kudu , Speke's gazelles , Chacoan Peccarys , as well as the Eagle Canyon, home to Andean condors , harpy eagles , ornate hawk eagles and Steller's sea eagles . Opened in 2022,
1900-530: The people because of the new movie Turning Red, which highlights red pandas as its main character and theme. The zoo offers a guided tour bus that traverses 75% of the park. There is also an overhead gondola lift called the Skyfari, providing an aerial view of the zoo. The Skyfari was built in 1969 by the Von Roll tramway company of Bern , Switzerland. The San Diego Zoo Skyfari is a Von Roll type 101. Exhibits at
1950-430: The position of executive secretary, in effect zoo director; she was given the actual title of zoo director a few years later. She served as zoo director from 1925 until 1953. For most of that time she was the only female zoo director in the world. She was succeeded as director by Dr. Charles Schroeder. The San Diego Zoo was a pioneer in building "cageless" exhibits. Wegeforth was determined to create moated exhibits from
2000-451: The resident giant panda parents Bai Yun and Gao Gao. Xiao Liwu (meaning "little gift"), was born on July 29, 2012, and was let outside for visitors to see on January 9, 2013. By 2015, all of the cubs had been sent back to China to participate in the breeding program there. By April 2019, the giant panda exhibit had closed. The pandas in the enclosure had been repatriated to China after successfully serving its conservation mission. Since
2050-510: The species housed here are axolotl , Chinese giant salamanders , Cuvier's dwarf caimans , Fiji banded iguana , leopard geckos , Indonesian blue-tongued skinks , common chuckwallas , yellow-spotted river turtles , freshwater angelfish , giant danios , pinktail chalceus , threadfin acara , multiple Lake Malawi cichlids , South American lungfish and sunburst diving beetles . Belle Benchley Belle Jennings Benchley (August 28, 1882 – December 17, 1973 ), known as “The Zoo Lady,”
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2100-400: The start, and the first lion area at the San Diego Zoo without enclosing wires opened in 1922. Until the 1960s, admission for children under 16 was free, regardless of whether they were accompanied by a paying adult. The zoo's Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES) was founded in 1975 at the urging of Kurt Benirschke , who became its first director. In 2005, CRES was renamed
2150-459: The title SDZ . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SDZ&oldid=965890770 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo
2200-541: The two locations. The San Diego facilities also actively exchange animals with other zoos around the world, in accordance with Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendations. San Diego has one of the world's largest and most diverse animal collections; however, the total number of animal species in the collection has been reduced somewhat over the past two decades (2000–2020), from around 860 to approximately 650. This comes as exhibits are redeveloped into more spacious, naturalistic areas, and as several animals are transitioned to
2250-456: The years; the most noteworthy of them is Ken Allen , a Bornean orangutan who came to be known as "the hairy Houdini", for his many escapes. In 1940, a Malayan Tapir managed to escape several times, earning it the nickname "Terrible Trudy". In 1977, an animal control officer for the County of San Diego, Tom Van Wagner, a previous employee of the San Diego Zoo as a tour bus guide, captured
2300-454: The zoo are often designed around a particular habitat . The same exhibit may feature many different animals that can be found side by side in the wild, along with native plant life. Exhibits range from an African rain forest (featuring gorillas) to the Arctic taiga and tundra in the summertime (featuring polar bears ). Some of the largest free-flight aviaries in existence are here, including
2350-468: The zoo's urban 100 acres can provide. Exhibits are themed mainly around Asia, Africa, and Australia, with the five largest being 100- to 200-acre "savannas"; these mixed-species field exhibits feature grassy rolling hills, canyons, lakes, and rocky outcrops to give the animals a more naturalistic, enriching home. This approach has brought the Safari Park much-breeding success, and (in an effort to maintain fresh bloodlines) animals are regularly relocated between
2400-428: Was not changed to managing director until the year she retired. For most of her career she was the only woman zoo director in the world. She and Dr. Wegeforth, as a team, oversaw the growth of the zoo through extensive animal collecting and innovative design. The Zoo was one of the first to put animals into naturalistic “cageless” exhibits. During her term as director, annual attendance increased more than fourfold, and
2450-603: Was set aside in August 1921; on the advice of the city attorney, it was agreed that the city would own all the animals and the zoo would manage them. The zoo began to move in the following year. In addition to the animals from the exposition, the zoo acquired a menagerie from the defunct Wonderland Amusement Park . Ellen Browning Scripps financed a fence around the zoo so that it could begin charging an entrance fee to offset costs. The publication ZooNooz commenced in early 1925. Animal collector Frank Buck went to work as director of
2500-737: Was the director of the San Diego Zoo from 1927 to 1953, guiding its expansion from a small collection of animals to an innovative, world-class zoo . Belle Jennings was born in Larned, Kansas , in 1882 and moved to San Diego with her family at the age of 5. They settled in the Roseville area of Point Loma , where the local elementary school was located in her parents’ home. She later attended Russ High School (now San Diego High School ) and San Diego Normal School (now San Diego State University ). She married William L. Benchley in 1906; they had one child,
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