San Francisco Zoo & Gardens

Contemplating the week while sitting in a ball. Sounds about right!

Saturday smiles.☺️

Saving a little morsel for later…

📷: Steve Franks

Rinca may look like he’s staring at you, but Komodo dragons actually have poor eyesight. They actually rely more on their keen sense of smell, flicking their tongues to collect scent particles to assess what’s happening in their environment.

Rhinos, like our male Greater one-horned rhino, Gauhati, make a variety of sounds, including grunting, snorting, trumpeting and squeaking as a way of communicating, even using low-frequency sounds to communicate with one another in dense forests.

🔈Take a listen to Gauhati!

As the world’s smallest deer species, the pudu stands just 1 to 1.5 feet tall at the shoulder! You can often see our two-year-old female southern pudu, Flor, in her outdoor habitat, though she is a bit shy, which is part of their survival strategy in the wild.

📷: Steve Franks

We’re all about Meerkat Monday!

Happy Caturday!

African lions spend a majority of their day sleeping, and do so in a variety of positions, from lying on their sides, curled up or, like you see in this photo, looking quite comfortable on their backs!

In celebration of the individuals that devote their lives to the care and welfare of animals, advocate for conservation and educate the public, we recognize the dedication and passion of our own keepers, past and present throughout National ZooKeeper Week!

Breakfast browse of champions.

Weekend vibes.

The east end of Penguin Island was bustling today! Summer is in full swing!

World Chimpanzee Day marks Dr. Jane Goodall’s pioneering research on wild chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park on July 14, 1960. In celebration, join us as we honor our chimps past and present, including our current group, males Gombus and Michael, and Connie.

Pacha presents your Sunday moment of zen.

Female koala Stacey comfy at the top of one of her habitat’s trees, waking up just to check things out!

Is this the same as when you have oatmeal for breakfast but prefer a pop-tart?

Our red ruffed lemur seen enjoying his flax plant!

Hello Hump Day!

Sometimes, all you need is a good stick! Here’s male Bactrian camel Bactrius Maximus II chewing on a stick, a natural behavior that keeps him both engaged and enriched.

Meatballs on the menu for Callista, our female Andean condor! The tray the meatballs was served on encouraged her to scavenge a bit, as these birds of prey are primarily scavengers, eating carrion rather than hunting live prey.

We’re all starting this week off after a holiday weekend with a lot of energy (not!).

A little bit of a traffic jam at the Australian WalkAbout!

📷: May Woon

Happy Fourth of July! We are open today (and every day!). 🇺🇸

Berani can’t believe it’s already July either.

📷: Steve Franks

You may see how our mandrills have to “work” a bit to forage for their produce using this hanging enrichment device. The mandrills are pros!

Happy Pride!🌈

Pretty cool!

1-2-3…diving into the weekend (or the pool)!

2/2 Each individual zebra has a distinct stripe pattern, thought to help them recognize each other within a herd. Their swishing tail also helps to deter biting flies, communicate with each other, and confuse predators, and also help them maintain balance when running.

You probably notice how the stripes appear on our Grant’s zebras, being vertical on the neck and torso, and horizontal on the legs and haunches, but have you looked closely at their tails? The stripes are patterned horizontally. 1/2

Our black-tailed prairie dogs are demonstrating how they keep warm by cozying up together on the habitat’s heated rock! Not that temps aren’t warm, just that, well, this is San Francisco’s summer! The prairie dogs may also stay in their underground burrows, which provide insulation and warmth.

16-year-old female Giant anteater Jade and her mobile enrichment is quite possibly the best thing you’ll see all day.