San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo News 2025

ZooFan1 said:
I also heard about the San Diego Zoo phasing out their sun bears for the Asian Passage expansion, will the Sloth Bears, Spectacled Bears, and Grizzly Bears still stay and get new exhibits?
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Yes, Sun Bears are being phased out.
No, there is no confirmed plans to turn the Bear grottos into an Asian exhibit. People on here have talked about the grottos being removed for a new exhibit but currently there is no official plan to replace them.
 
Okay, I'll miss the sun bears, but I’m glad they’re still keeping the other bear species, even if the grottos seem outdated, I wonder what’s going to take the sun bear's place after they’re gone? My biggest guess is sloth bears
 
Westcoastperson said:
Yes, Sun Bears are being phased out.
No, there is no confirmed plans to turn the Bear grottos into an Asian exhibit. People on here have talked about the grottos being removed for a new exhibit but currently there is no official plan to replace them.
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I had this Suggestion with the Sun Bear Forest being renamed to Sloth Bear Forest with the Sloth bears moving in.
 
Kudu21 said:
According to regular Zoo photographers on social media, the crowned eagle pair has been moved from their aviary across from the bonobos in Lost Forest to the old ornate hawk-eagle aviary along Eagle Trail.
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Forge said:
I can confirm this as I saw at least one of the Crowned Eagles in this exhibit today.
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To confirm what became of the crowned eagles’ former home. I noticed that a male-female pair of Wrinkled Hornbills now call the aviary across from the bonobos their home; which I saw (and photographed) on my latest visit to the zoo (07/07).
 
Other First Half 2025 News:
ZooGirlSD said:
There are two new Koala joeys this year! Adori has a female joey that has been making consistent appearances outside the pouch, already seen riding on mom’s back and munching on leaves. Merindah is also said to have a joey in pouch that has just started peeking its head out. Sex has not yet been confirmed.
This is a photo of Adori and her joey taken during my visit yesterday.
View attachment 771017
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On April 18th, the zoo announced they sexed the other koala as (1.0) and named Bunji (partnership with Taronga Zoo).

64K views · 3.4K reactions | or ? It's officially joey season and some baby koalas are slowly emerging from the coziness of their mamas' pouches to explore with the rest of the colony including little Bunji, the newest member of the gang and named in partnership with @tarongazoo. This little backpack baby has attached himself to mom's side and will remain close until he's around one-year-old. #koala #joeys #pouchpotatoes #sandiegozoo | San Diego Zoo

On May 13th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) koala named Telowie to Columbus Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio in April.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

On July 2nd, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) North American porcupine named Jasper to Phoenix Zoo in Arizona. It was also announced that a North American porcupine was born in recent months**.

11K views · 637 reactions | Guess who's back! It's Jasper, the North American porcupine! For World Porcupine Day, we are celebrating the return of Jasper to the Arizona Trail. For the past few months, he was at San Diego Zoo increasing the North American porcupine population, successfully fathering a porcupette! Jasper's species is the second largest rodent found in North America, after the beaver. They are covered in around 30,000 barbed quills, which are hollow and make them buoyant and excellent swimmers! #WorldPorcupineDay | Phoenix Zoo

On July 7th, the zoo announced that a meerkat named Nesbindi was born on March 9th, which is now on exhibit.

40K views · 1.7K reactions | Nesbindi appreciation post ❤️ This adorable little digger is the newest member of the meerkat mob and was born on March 9th. True to the meaning of the name Nesbindi, which translates to "bold" in Zulu, this pint-sized pup has been exploring outside the den from an exceptionally early age. #nesbindi #meerkat #babyanimals #sandiegozoo | San Diego Zoo

On July 11th, it was announced that the zoo reacquired a (0.1) koala from the San Francisco Zoo in California on April 30th***.

https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/26342/JtZooAg71725

* Worth mentioning that the zoo transferred (2.0) Arabian sand cats to Lake Superior Zoo in Minnesota in August 2024, (4.0) Visayan warty pigs to San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California in September 2024 (according to @RJB Wildlife in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park News 2024 thread (Page 9 Post #169).), a (0.1) Bali myna to San Francisco Zoo in October 2024, and a (1.0) crested coua to Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Florida in December 2024 respectively.
** I am not sure if the post is referring to the birth in September 2024 or an entirely new birth in general.
*** There is a post from September 2024 that shows a (0.1) koala was acquired by San Francisco from San Diego on August 25th, though I do not know if they are one in the same.
 
ZooFan1 said:
I did hear something about the Asian Passage expansion or redevelopment on here somewhere and rumors that they'll demolish the bear grottos for the Asian Passage expansion
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It hasn't been given an official name yet, but yes there has been speculation from multiple users from these San Diego Zoo news threads, some with insight from the zoo themselves (from the 2024 thread) that plans after Elephant Valley and the Polar Plunge renovation will be to uograde Asian passage and remove the bear grottos, to add exhbits for sloth bears, takins, and indian rhinos. Curious if there have been any new updates on this now too, though plans may change now that the zoo has a new director.
 
BenFoxster said:
It hasn't been given an official name yet, but yes there has been speculation from multiple users from these San Diego Zoo news threads, some with insight from the zoo themselves (from the 2024 thread) that plans after Elephant Valley and the Polar Plunge renovation will be to uograde Asian passage and remove the bear grottos, to add exhbits for sloth bears, takins, and indian rhinos. Curious if there have been any new updates on this now too, though plans may change now that the zoo has a new director.
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The bear grottos and urban jungle are the most obvious candidates for upgrades at the zoo IMO, so it would make sense.
 
I hope they make new exhibits for the Grizzly Bears and Spectacled Bears and don’t phase them out, like they can change Polar Bear Plunge into an exhibit called Bears of the Americas which will feature Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears, and Spectacled Bears, also they turn the current Rhino exhibit into an African Savanna-like exhibit for the giraffes, zebras, and gazelles
 
ZooFan1 said:
I hope they make new exhibits for the Grizzly Bears and Spectacled Bears and don’t phase them out, like they can change Polar Bear Plunge into an exhibit called Bears of the Americas which will feature Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears, and Spectacled Bears, also they turn the current Rhino exhibit into an African Savanna-like exhibit for the giraffes, zebras, and gazelles
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I was always hoping they would transform the old reindeer habitat in polar bear plunge to a grizzly bear habitat.
 
BushDog said:
I was always hoping they would transform the old reindeer habitat in polar bear plunge to a grizzly bear habitat.
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That could work, and they can get more space to make a new exhibit for the Spectacled Bears near the Grizzly Bears and Polar Bears
 
ZooFan1 said:
That could work, and they can get more space to make a new exhibit for the Spectacled Bears near the Grizzly Bears and Polar Bears
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If the Bears are moving there, then the African antelopes and zebras should move to the hypothetical African savannah in the urban jungle.

Also, you know the Zoo doesn't have a proper Central or South American Zone, let alone the Safari Park.
 
Thomas said:
If the Bears are moving there, then the African antelopes and zebras should move to the hypothetical African savannah in the urban jungle.

Also, you know the Zoo doesn't have a proper Central or South American Zone, let alone the Safari Park.
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I'm kind of aware of that, I was thinking that they can also have exhibits for Spider Monkeys and Giant River Otters as well as an aviary for birds native to the Cloud Forests of South America, while the Visayan Warty Pigs can get relocated on the Tiger Trail while the Maned Wolves, Peccaries, Anteaters, Cavies, and Mountain Lions can stay in the same area since they’re also from South America
 
ZooFan1 said:
I'm kind of aware of that, I was thinking that they can also have exhibits for Spider Monkeys and Giant River Otters as well as an aviary for birds native to the Cloud Forests of South America, while the Visayan Warty Pigs can get relocated on the Tiger Trail while the Maned Wolves, Peccaries, Anteaters, Cavies, and Mountain Lions can stay in the same area since they’re also from South America
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So that area will be called the Americas Zone. Might need a good title for it.
 
ZooFan1 said:
I hope they make new exhibits for the Grizzly Bears and Spectacled Bears and don’t phase them out, like they can change Polar Bear Plunge into an exhibit called Bears of the Americas which will feature Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears, and Spectacled Bears, also they turn the current Rhino exhibit into an African Savanna-like exhibit for the giraffes, zebras, and gazelles
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A little Birdy told me the polar bears didn't like when Alba was moved in down the hill a little bit, so they are cautious of making any big changes in the area. They eventually went back to their typical behaviors after a few days!
 
So if other bears are moved into neighboring exhibits it might stress the polar bears, like they may sense the other bears and get weary/territorial?
 
BenFoxster said:
So if other bears are moved into neighboring exhibits it might stress the polar bears, like they may sense the other bears and get weary/territorial?
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Or simply uncomfortable and stressed out, yes. It's not necessarily uncommon for large carnivores to react negatively to arrival of an unfamiliar carnivore nearby. Their strong senses of smell and hearing tell them if there's a new neighbor they can't see. Often they acclimate sooner or later but some individuals really don't care for having unfamiliar neighbors.
Some smaller carnivores will stress very easily if kept too near big carnivores, notably Red Pandas and Cheetahs to my understanding.
 
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