San Diego Zoo Global Joins Cheetah Breeding Coalition

San Diego Zoo Global Joins Cheetah Breeding Coalition

National Coalition Includes Eight Other Organizations

     Noka, a 13-year-old male cheetah, is perched in a tree investigating the exhibit of a female cheetah. This is one of the first steps in introducing male and female cheetahs for breeding. Noka is one of 16 cheetahs in an off-exhibit breeding facility at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.


     San Diego Zoo Global, which has been breeding cheetahs for more than 40 years, yielding more than 130 cubs, has recently joined the national cheetah Breeding Center Coalition (BCC) to create a sustainable cheetah population that will prevent extinction of the world’s fastest land animal. In addition to the nine breeding facilities, it is expected that more than 100 other organizations accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that already house cheetahs will also join this coalition in a nonbreeding capacity.

     The nine-member coalition’s goal is to achieve a sustainable zoo population of cheetahs within 10 years. To achieve this goal, the facilities have set a target of 15 cheetah cub litters to be born each year. A typical cheetah litter has about three cubs, which would total 45 cubs per year among the nine breeding centers.

Showing Off Stripes: Okapi Calf Makes Debut at San Diego Zoo

Showing Off Stripes: Okapi Calf Makes Debut at San Diego Zoo

     A 17-day-old female okapi calf at the San Diego Zoo took her first stroll around her exhibit this morning, staying near Mom and appearing a little tentative but curious about her new surroundings. The calf was born on May 19 and, until today, has been behind the scenes and out of public view in the Zoo’s okapi barn with her mother, Safarani.

     Animal care staff report the calf is healthy and progressing well and has almost doubled her birth weight in a little over two weeks. This is the fourth calf born to Safarani and the 23rd  okapi born at the San Diego Zoo.

     Okapis are native to the Ituri Forest, a dense rain forest in Central Africa. The species is near threatened, mainly due to habitat destruction. It is believed there are currently less than 25,000 okapis in the wild. There are less than 90 okapis in zoos in the United States.

Sunny and Raining Raisins

It’s Sunny and Raining Raisins for Play Days at San Diego Zoo

     Following a “raisin rain,” two lowland gorillas forage for the sweet treats in the thick grass of their exhibit at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday. Twenty-four-year-old Paul Donn, a male silverback, and 18-year-old female gorilla Ndjia were treated to the fruit as part of the Zoo’s Play Days event, which highlights the various ways the Zoo provides enrichment activities for the animals to encourage and reinforce the animals’ natural behaviors including hunting, exploring, climbing and swimming.

     The San Diego Zoo is home to eight western lowland gorillas, a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
During Play Days the Zoo is open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. through April 7 and also includes keeper talks and opportunities for guests to meet Zoo creatures up close - perhaps to feed one.

FIRST SNOW DAY FOR PANDA CUB!

Tuesday, March 19, starting at 7 a.m., we are preparing for snow in the panda exhibits. We are very excited and thankful to all the panda fans who donated money to give this wonderful enrichment to our giant pandas. I am sure we will see you at 9 a.m. sharp in person or starting around 8 a.m. on the Panda Cam!
It’s a bit of a process to actually make snow and put it in the exhibits. We have a truck that comes in and is specially designed to turn large ice blocks into snow. There are large hoses that we can hold and deliver (spray) snow into the entire panda exhibit. Snow will be blown into Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu’s north exhibit and into Gao Gao’s exhibit in the main viewing area.

Sadly, Yun Zi’s new tree will not be done in time (due to a couple of days of rain), and he will stay housed next to Bai Yun and Mr. Wu for a few more days. But don’t fret! Yun Zi will be getting snow, too, and we will make sure he has a mound of it to play in.

We are all excited to see how brave Mr. Wu is and what his first reaction will be when he puts his paws in it. Hopefully, it will be a wonderful play day for both bears and guests!

Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Here’s Zhen Zhen when she saw her first snow: