San Diego Zoo

15 Stories

Sign of a US-China Thaw: a New Panda Promise

China plans to send 2 new pandas to the San Diego Zoo

(Newser) - China plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its long-standing gesture of friendship toward the United States after nearly all the iconic bears on loan to US zoos were returned as relations began to sour between the two nations. San Diego Zoo...

Penguin That Was Walking on His Ankles Gets Help

Lucas at San Diego Zoo is outfitted with orthopedic footwear

(Newser) - A member of the San Diego Zoo's African penguin colony has been fitted with orthopedic footwear to help it deal with a degenerative foot condition. The 4-year-old penguin named Lucas has lesions on his feet due to a chronic condition known as bumblefoot, which covers a range of avian...

Stray Dog Flirts With Disaster in Gorilla Habitat

Things got tense, but everyone was fine in the end in San Diego

(Newser) - In what must have seemed like a fine idea at the time, a stray dog wandered into the gorilla habitat at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Sunday. Franklin the gorilla and his partner were not pleased; nor were the horrified onlookers, at least one of whom caught the...

Marines Plead Not Guilty to Vandalizing Zoo Ride

More than 100 people were stuck on San Diego gondola for up to 2 hours

(Newser) - Update: Four Marines accused of rocking a gondola at the San Diego Zoo so hard that the aerial ride automatically shut down have pleaded not guilty to felony vandalism. The active-duty Marines—identified by military officials as Sgt. Jacob Dean Bauer, 23; Cpl. Brandon Gregory Cook, 21; Lance Cpl. Brayden...

Snake Bites Zoo Worker, and There's No Antivenom

'Incidents like this are very rare,' zoo says

(Newser) - A San Diego Zoo employee was hospitalized Monday after being bitten by a venomous snake—one for which no antivenom exists. The zoo says the worker was bitten by the African bush viper—aka Atheris squamigera—in an area of the zoo that is off-limits to the public, KGTV reports....

Quest for Photo With Zoo Elephant Ends With Dad's Arrest

Jose Manuel Navarrete faces child cruelty charges

(Newser) - A father’s quest for a memorable photograph during a visit to the San Diego Zoo ended with his arrest. Jose Manuel Navarrete, 25, on Friday bypassed multiple barriers to enter a habitat for Asian and African elephants while carrying his 2-year-old daughter, the AP reports. “You hear this...

For First Time, Non-Humans Get COVID Vaccine
9 Great Apes Get
COVID Vaccine
Mar 5, 2021 12:07 AM CST

9 Great Apes Get COVID Vaccine

They're the first non-humans to get vaccinated

(Newser) - The San Diego Zoo has vaccinated nine great apes for the coronavirus after a troop of gorillas in its Safari Park became infected, the AP reports. Officials say four orangutans and five bonobos received COVID-19 injections in January and February, making them the first non-humans to get vaccinated against the...

COVID Has Spread to a New Kind of Beast

8 gorillas that live together at California zoo are believed to have been infected

(Newser) - California's San Diego Zoo is experiencing what is believed to be the first coronavirus outbreak among captive primates. Eight gorillas that live together at the zoo's safari park are thought to be infected, with some of them coughing, and at least two have tested positive, the Guardian reports....

San Diego Zoo Finds Cause of Rhino's Trouble: a Bullet

'Wallis' was apparently shot by a poacher in South Africa

(Newser) - A resident at the San Diego Zoo came within inches of becoming a poaching victim instead of part of a conservation program. Zoo authorities say that after southern white rhino Wallis came to the zoo from South Africa in November 2015, evidence including a wound near her heart that wouldn'...

Even Giant Pandas Need Dental Work

Bai Yun's chipped lower canine was repaired on Wednesday

(Newser) - One of the most reproductively successful pandas in captivity is no longer stuck with a chipped tooth. On Wednesday, the San Diego Zoo's giant female panda Bai Yun underwent a procedure to fix a chipped lower canine tooth that could have seriously cut down her bamboo consumption, the Los ...

Mammal Moms Can Choose Baby's Sex
 Mammal Moms Can 
 Choose Baby's Sex 
STUDY SAYS
Jul 11, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Mammal Moms Can Choose Baby's Sex

They subconsciously produce boys or girls, based on a slew of factors

(Newser) - Call it "sneaky Machiavellian girl power," as the lead researcher does in the Washington Post . His study in PloS One concludes that female mammals have the innate ability to determine the sex of their offspring. It's not a conscious decision—the expectant moms somehow factor in a...

Newt Lauds Romney: He's Like Eisenhower

Plus: Gingrich reveals his favorite snake

(Newser) - Sure, during the campaign he wasn't Mitt Romney's biggest fan—but it looks like Newt Gingrich is ready to let bygones be bygones. In an interview with Chris Matthews last night, Gingrich hailed the "organized" and "methodical" Romney for being "a lot like Eisenhower,"...

San Diego Zoo Elephant Dies After Fight

Trainers believe another elephant killed dominant female

(Newser) - A murder mystery at San Diego Zoo: Umoya, one of the zoo herd's dominant females, was found dead yesterday after apparently suffering injuries in a fight with another elephant. The elephant was on the ground when trainers found her and she died soon after—although her wounds did not...

Audio Stimulus Gets Cheetahs to Mate

Man-altered bioacoustics work as an aphrodisiac for cheetahs

(Newser) - Man’s ingenuity has altered nature’s rhythms for the better at the San Diego Zoo, where an African cheetah cub was born after zookeepers helped her dad turn on her mom, the North Country Times reports. Park scientists used bioacoustics—human-altered animal sounds—to stimulate mating after they discovered...

Panda Couple a Model of Fertility
Panda Couple a Model of Fertility
Nov 26, 2007 10:35 AM CST

Panda Couple a Model of Fertility

Famous pair at San Diego Zoo meet just once a year

(Newser) - Suggesting that quality does best quantity, two of the most reproductively successful pandas in captivity meet—and mate—but once a year, the AP reveals. Since 2003 the San Diego Zoo's Bai Yun and Gao Gao have produced three cubs, a great feat for the endangered species. The youngest is...

15 Stories