The San Francisco Zoo is a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

located in the southwestern corner of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, between

Lake Merced Lake Merced ( es, Laguna de Merced) is a freshwater lake in the southwest corner of San Francisco, in the U.S. state of California. It is surrounded by three golf courses (the private Olympic Club and San Francisco Golf Club, and the public TPC Har ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

along the

Great Highway The Great Highway is a road in San Francisco that forms the city's western edge along the Pacific coast. Built in 1929, it runs for approximately next to Ocean Beach. Its southern end is at Skyline Boulevard ( State Route 35) near Lake Merced; ...

. The SF Zoo is a public institution, managed by the non-profit San Francisco Zoological Society, a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...

. As of 2016, the zoo housed more than one thousand individual animals, representing more than 250 species. It is noted as the birthplace of

Koko the gorilla Hanabiko "Koko" (July 4, 1971 – June 19, 2018) was a female western lowland gorilla. Koko was born in San Francisco Zoo, and lived most of her life at The Gorilla Foundation's preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The name , , is of Japanese ori ...

, and, since 1974, the home of Elly, the oldest black rhinoceros in North America. The zoo's main entrance (one located on the north side across Sloat Boulevard and one block south of the

Muni Metro Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, United States. Operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), a part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Muni Metro served an average of 157 ...

L Taraval line) is to the west, on the ocean side.

History

Originally named the Fleishhacker Zoo after its founder, banker and San Francisco Parks Commission president

Herbert Fleishhacker Herbert Fleishhacker (November 2, 1872 – April 2, 1957), was an American businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. In 1924, he created and helped fund the Fleishhacker Pool in San Francisco, for many years the world's largest outdoor sal ...

, planning for construction began in 1929, on the site adjacent to what was once the largest

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the Fleishhacker Pool. The area was also already home to a children’s zoo and playground, an original (circa 1921) Michael Dentzel/ Marcus Illions

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

, and the Mother’s Building, a lounge for women and their children. Most of the exhibits were populated with animals transferred from

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

, including two

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

s, a cape buffalo, five rhesus monkeys, two

spider monkey Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The ...

s, and three

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s (Virginia, Marjorie, and Babe). The first exhibits built in the 1930s cost $3.5 million, which included Monkey Island, Lion House, Elephant House, a small

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

grotto, an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...

, and

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

grottos A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

. These spacious,

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

ed enclosures were among the first bar-less exhibits in the country. In 1955, a local San Francisco newspaper purchased Pennie, a baby female

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

, and donated her to the zoo after many children donated their pennies, nickels, and dimes for her purchase. Over the next forty years, the Zoological Society became a powerful fundraising source for the San Francisco Zoo, just as Fleishhacker had hoped when he envisioned: "…a Zoological Society similar to those established in other large cities. The Zoological Society will aid the Parks Commission in the acquisition of rare animals and in the operation of the zoo." True to its charter, the Society immediately exerted its influence on the zoo, obtaining more than 1,300 annual memberships in its first ten years (nearly 25,000 today). It also funded projects like the renovation of the Children’s Zoo in 1964, development of the African Scene in 1967, the purchase of medical equipment for the new zoo Hospital in 1975, and the establishment of the Avian Conservation Center in 1978. In November 2004, Tinkerbelle, San Francisco Zoo's last Asian elephant, was moved to ARK 2000, a sanctuary run by PAWS-

Performing Animal Welfare Society The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a U.S.-based group for abandoned or abused performing animals as well as victims of the exotic animal trade. They claim 30,000 members. As a member accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS ...

located in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

foothills. She was later joined in March 2005 by the African elephant Lulu, the last elephant on display at the zoo. The moves followed the highly publicized deaths of thirty-eight-year-old Calle in March 2004, and forty-three-year-old Maybelle the following month. In early 2006, the SF Zoo announced its offer to name a soon-to-hatch

American bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

after comedian

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

. The publicity and goodwill garnered from coverage of the event on the

Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show foc ...

was a windfall for the zoo and the city of San Francisco. Stephen Jr. was born on April 17, 2006.

Exhibit renovations

* Otter River (1994) featuring

North American river otter The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North American rive ...

s * Feline Conservation Center (1994) housing three species of small cats, including the

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

, and Malayan

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

s * Spectacled bear exhibit renovation (1994) * Lion House outdoor enclosures (1994) * Eagle Island renovation (1995) providing a home for Sureshot, an injured (and non-releasable)

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

* Australian WalkAbout (1995) new space for red kangaroos and

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

s *

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

Lake renovation (1995) * Monkey Island demolition (1995) *

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

exhibit renovation (1995) *

Warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly co ...

exhibit (1996) *

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

(1996) * Aviary renovation (1996) *

Ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

exhibit renovation (1996) * Children’s Zoo entrance (1996) *

Kodiak bear The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population o ...

exhibit (1996) * Avian Conservation Center (1997) *

African lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

cub exhibit (1997) *

Aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

Forest (1997) * Asian elephant exhibit renovations (1997 and 1999) * Rainbow Landing (now

Lorikeet Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the ...

Landing) (1998) * Outdoor aviary demolition (1998) * Restoration of Little Puffer (miniature railroad) (1998) * Primate Discovery Center terrace exhibit renovation (1998) * Children’s Zoo renovation (1999) * Puente al Sur (1999) now houses

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecophag ...

mountain tapir The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (''Tapirus pinchaque'') is the smallest of the four widely recognized species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism ...

s, and capybara * Infrastructure replacement (1999) * Aviary renovation (2000) depicts a South American tropical forest, complete with birds,

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America f ...

, and an

anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used ...

* Seal pool/bear exhibits (2000) * Connie and

Bob Lurie Robert Alfred Lurie (born 1929) is a real estate magnate, philanthropist, and former owner of the San Francisco Giants franchise of Major League Baseball from March 2, 1976, until January 12, 1993. Early life Lurie was born to a Jewish family

Education Center (2001) * Koret Animal Resource Center (2001) * Expanded Children’s Zoo and Family Farm (2001) * Wetlands habitat (2001) *

Cassowary Cassowaries ( tpi, muruk, id, kasuari) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'' in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones) and are native to the tropical forest ...

Exhibit (2001) features double-wattled cassowaries, one of the world's largest bird species * Lipman Family

Lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

Forest (2002) houses five species of Madagascan primates in an outdoor forest * Friend and Taube Entry Village (2002) * Leaping Lemur Café (2002) * Split Mound artwork by McCarren/Fine (2002) * Bronze lion sculptures by

Gwynn Murrill Gwynn Murrill (born 1942) is an American sculptor. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Murrill earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is known most especially for her animal sculptures in a variety ...

(2002) * Zoo Street and parking (2002) * Dentzel Carousel (2002) *

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n Savanna (2004) features

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

, zebra,

kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

and other African wildlife roaming together in a lush, 3 acre (1 ha) habitat. * African Savanna Giraffe Feedings (2006) * Black swan exhibit (2006) * Binnowee Landing and Feeding (formerly Lorikeet Landing) (2006) *

Kunekune The Kunekune or is a small breed of domestic pig from New Zealand. Kunekune are hairy with a rotund build, and may bear wattles hanging from their lower jaws. Their colour ranges from black and white, to ginger, cream, gold-tip, black, brown, ...

pig exhibit at the Family Farm (formerly the miniature pig exhibit) (2006) * Hearst Grizzly Gulch exhibit (opened June 14, 2007) * Big Cat Exhibit Renovations (January 2008) * Hippopotamus and

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

exhibits (the 2 hippos, Puddles and Cuddles, died during renovation) (2007–2009) * Little Puffer restoration (2009) * South American Tropical Rainforest Aviary

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

removal (2009–2010) * Fishing cat exhibit (2010) * Mexican wolf canyon (2016) * Expanded Snow leopard habitat (2022)

Animals and exhibits

Indian peafowl The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...

roam the zoo grounds freely. The zoo also has

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...

African Region

Leanne B. Roberts African Savanna

Grant's zebra Grant's zebra (''Equus quagga boehmi'') is the smallest of the seven subspecies of the plains zebra. This subspecies represents the zebra form of the Serengeti- Mara ecosystem and others across central Africa. Distribution This subspecies is di ...

Greater kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, ...

Common ostrich The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...

Reticulated giraffe The reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'' or ''G. reticulata''), also known as the Somali giraffe, is a subspecies or species of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It lives in Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Ken ...

Black crowned crane The black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow we ...

Grey crowned crane The grey crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum''), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo crane, South ...

African Aviary

* Blue-bellied roller *

Hadada ibis The hadeda ibis (''Bostrychia hagedash'') is an ibis native to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named for its loud three to four note calls uttered in flight especially in the mornings and evenings when they fly out or return to their roost trees. Altho ...

Hamerkop The hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genus ''Scopus'' and the family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but is now placed with the ...

* Long-tailed glossy starling *

Northern bald ibis The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or waldrapp (''Geronticus eremita'') is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This glossy black ibis, which, unlike many members of the ibis family, i ...

Jones Family Gorilla Preserve

Western lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Afri ...

Doelger Primate Discovery Center

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

Coquerel's sifaka Coquerel's sifaka (''Propithecus coquereli'') is a diurnal, medium-sized lemur of the sifaka genus '' Propithecus''. It is native to northwest Madagascar. Coquerel's sifaka was once considered to be a subspecies of Verreaux's sifaka, but was ...

François' langur François' langur (''Trachypithecus francoisi''), also known as Francois' leaf monkey, the Tonkin leaf monkey, or the white side-burned black langur is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. It is one of the least studied ...

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

Lipman Family Lemur Forest

Black-and-white ruffed lemur The black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller populati ...

Blue-eyed black lemur The blue-eyed black lemur (''Eulemur flavifrons''), also known as the Sclater's lemur, is a species of true lemur. It can attain a body length of , a tail length of , a total length of , and a weight of . Being a primate, it has strong hands wi ...

Crowned lemur The crowned lemur (''Eulemur coronatus'') is a lemur that is long and weighs . Its tail is about long. Description The crowned lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous forests of the northern tip of Madagascar. It eats a diet of mostly flowers, f ...

Red-bellied lemur The red-bellied lemur (''Eulemur rubriventer'') is a medium-sized strepsirrhine primate with a luxuriant chestnut brown coat. This lemur is endemic to eastern Madagascan rainforests and is distinguished by patches of white skin below the e ...

Red-fronted lemur The red-fronted lemur (''Eulemur rufifrons''), also known as the red-fronted brown lemur or southern red-fronted brown lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, it was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvu ...

Red ruffed lemur The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the ...

Great Ape Passage

Chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

* Bornean orangutan

Cat Kingdom

Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

Eastern black rhinoceros The eastern black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis michaeli''), also known as the East African black rhinoceros, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Its numbers are very low due to poaching for its horn, and it is listed as critically endanger ...

Eastern bongo The bongo (''Tragelaphus eurycerus'') is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate. Bongos are characterised by a striking reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes and long slightly spiralled horns. They are the ...

Fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...

Pygmy hippopotamus The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has ...

Snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...

* Sumatran tiger *

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

Penguin Island

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...

Outback Trail

Common wallaroo The common wallaroo (''Osphranter robustus''), also known as the euro, hill wallaroo, or simply wallaroo, is a species of macropod. The word ''euro'' is particularly applied to one subspecies (''O. r. erubescens'').WE Poole and JC Merchant (198 ...

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

Red kangaroo The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as sou ...

Southern cassowary The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf c ...

South America

Puente al Sur

Black-necked swan The black-necked swan (''Cygnus melancoryphus'') is a species of waterfowl in tribe Cygnini of subfamily Anserinae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the bir ...

Giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecophag ...

Greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). One of two sp ...

Guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco g ...

Red-and-green macaw The red-and-green macaw (''Ara chloropterus''), also known as the green-winged macaw, is a large, mostly-red macaw of the genus ''Ara''. This is the largest of the genus ''Ara'', widespread in the forests and woodlands of northern and central ...

* White-faced whistling duck

South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary

Amazon tree boa ''Corallus hortulana'', commonly known as the Amazon tree boa, macabrel, common tree boa, and garden tree boa,Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . is a boa species found in South Americ ...

* American white ibis *

Blue-headed macaw The blue-headed macaw or Coulon's macaw (''Primolius couloni'') is a macaw native to eastern Peru, northwestern Bolivia (mainly in Pando), and far western Brazil (in Acre). It has a total length of about 41 cm (16 in), making it a m ...

* Blue-throated piping guan *

Blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scoti ...

Boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

Crested oropendola The crested oropendola (''Psarocolius decumanus''), also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia ...

Curl-crested aracari The curl-crested araçari or curl-crested araçari (''Pteroglossus beauharnaisii'') is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fre ...

* Dyeing poison dart frog *

Emerald tree boa The emerald tree boa (''Corallus caninus'')Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . is a boa species found in the rainforests of South America. Since 2009 the species ''Corallus batesii ...

* Golfodulcean poison frog * Great curassow *

Green anaconda The green anaconda (''Eunectes murinus''), also known as the giant Emerald anaconda, common anaconda, common water boa or sucuri, is a boa species found in South America. It is the heaviest and one of the longest known extant snake species. Lik ...

Green and black poison dart frog The green-and-black poison dart frog (''Dendrobates auratus''), also known as the green-and-black poison arrow frog and green poison frog (among others), is a brightly colored member of the order Anura native to Central America and northwestern ...

* Honduran spiny-tailed iguana *

Linnaeus's two-toed sloth Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus didactylus''), also known as the southern two-toed sloth, unau, or Linne's two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from South America, found in Venezuela, the Guyanas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil north ...

* Northern caiman lizard *

Panamanian golden frog The Panamanian golden frog (''Atelopus zeteki''), also known as Cerro Campana stubfoot toad and other names, is a species of toad endemic to Panama. Panamanian golden frogs inhabit the streams along the mountainous slopes of the Cordilleran cloud ...

Plumed basilisk The plumed basilisk (''Basiliscus plumifrons''), also called the green basilisk, double crested basilisk, or Jesus Christ lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Corytophanidae. The species is native to Central America. The plumed basilis ...

* Red-eyed tree frog *

Red-footed tortoise The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell ...

Red-lored amazon The red-lored amazon or red-lored parrot (''Amazona autumnalis'') is a species of amazon parrot, native to tropical regions of the Americas, from eastern Mexico south to Ecuador where it occurs in humid evergreen to semi-deciduous forests up to ...

Roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...

Ruddy duck The ruddy duck (''Oxyura jamaicensis'') is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''oxus'', "sharp", and ''oura'', "tail", and ''jamaicensis'' is "from Jamaica". Taxonomy The r ...

Scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but it ...

* Smoky jungle frog

Bear Country

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

* American white pelican * Chacoan peccary *

Grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

Mexican wolf The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi''), also known as the lobo,; nah, Cuetlāchcoyōtl is a subspecies of gray wolf native to southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico in the United States, and northern Mexico; it also previously rang ...

Pink-backed pelican The pink-backed pelican (''Pelecanus rufescens'') is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also apparently extirpated in Madagascar. Taxonomy The pink-backe ...

Exploration Zone

Black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, ...

Meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

Red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

Red-rumped agouti The red-rumped agouti (''Dasyprocta leporina''), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. Distribution It is native to northeastern South America, wh ...

Rosy-faced lovebird The rosy-faced lovebird (''Agapornis roseicollis''), also known as the rosy-collared or peach-faced lovebird, is a species of lovebird native to arid regions in southwestern Africa such as the Namib Desert. Loud and constant chirpers, these bir ...

Spectacled owl The spectacled owl (''Pulsatrix perspicillata'') is a large tropical owl native to the neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, south to southern Brazil, Paraguay and northwestern ...

Safety incidents and animal deaths

2007 tiger attacks

On December 22, 2006,

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germ ...

, the 242-pound

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...

, attacked

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

Lori Komejan, causing the keeper to be hospitalized for several weeks with lacerated limbs and shock. The Lion House was closed for ten months as a result. California's Division of Occupation Safety and Health found the zoo liable for the keeper's injuries, fined the zoo, and ordered safety improvements. On December 25, 2007, the same tiger escaped from her grotto and attacked three zoo visitors after being taunted and pummeled by sticks and pine cones by the visitors. Carlos Sousa, 17, of San Jose, California, was killed at the scene, while another taunter was mauled and survived. The tiger was shot and killed by police while hiding in the landscape after the attack. Three other tigers who shared Tatiana's grotto did not escape. Tatiana arrived at the San Francisco Zoo from the Denver Zoo in 2005, in hopes that she would mate. (This "Tatiana" is not the same as the one successfully breeding in the

Toronto Zoo The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing , the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the ...

). According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the attack is the first visitor fatality due to animal escape at a member zoo in the history of the organization.

Other incidents

In October 2020, a 30-year-old man was arrested when he stole an endangered

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

named Maki. He was charged in July 2021 for a violation of the Endangered Species Act. He faces $50,000 in fines and as much as one year in prison. Maki was found the day after he was kidnapped at a playground in Daly City and was returned to the zoo.

Conservation

Two black bears were rescued as orphans in Alaska. The male was found on the edges of town near Valdez in May 2017 and the female cub was found near

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

in June 2017. Both cubs were determined by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to be motherless and were brought to Alaska Zoo and rehabilitated back to health. In 2017, the Alaska Zoo had more orphaned bear cubs than ever before, due to the repeal of bear hunting regulations by the Trump administration, which allowed for the hunting of hibernating bears in their dens. Mr. Lampi said. The two bears were brought to the San Francisco Zoo in 2017 and a previously empty habitat was repurposed to host them. The zoo housed Henry, a 10-year-old blind California sea lion who was found stranded on a beach in Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County in 2010. In 2012, he was brought to the San Francisco Zoo, he was treated by veterinarians for his blindness.

Species survival projects

The San Francisco Zoo participates in Species Survival Plans, conservation programs sponsored by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The program began in 1981 for selected species in North American zoos and aquariums where the breeding of a species done to maintain healthy, self-sustaining, genetically diverse and demographically stable populations. The zoo participates in more than 30 SSP programs, working to conserve species ranging from Madagascan radiated tortoises and reticulated giraffes to black rhinos and gorillas.

References

External links

* run web gi tunnel = vps {{authority control Zoos in California Parks in San Francisco Sunset District, San Francisco Insectariums Landmarks in San Francisco Urban public parks Zoos established in 1929 1929 establishments in California Tourist attractions in San Francisco