San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego Zoo Safari Park News 2025

DavidBrown said:
They actually had three, a male and two females. They all died of very old age.
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That I knew, they actually had eight Northern White Rhinos over the course of its history, including a brief period in the 1990-1991 when they had five Northern Whites at once (they acquired a bull and two cows in 1989 and another bull in 1990, who joined their existing elderly bull), but I think having one-third of the remaining six individuals of their subspecies in the world is quite noteworthy. Angalifu, the male rhino died in 2014 and Nola, his mate passed the following year. One other female rhino, Nadi (the one you were probably referring to), died in 2007 (when there were still 15-20 of them left in the world), and Saut, another male, returned to the zoo in Czechia where he came to the park from in 1998. They acquired four Northern Whites from St. Louis and D.C in the 1970s but only one of them, the male Dinka, remained by 1980 (where he was temporarily exhibited at the zoo for about two years before coming back to the park), and he died in 1991 of old age, shortly after receiving his new crash.
 
A couple of updates from today!

- All but one of the generic giraffe in the East Africa field exhibit are currently being housed in the boma due to an on-going health issue with one the herd members.

-New anti-predator fencing (similar to what was installed around the Bird Delta and the greater flamingo exhibit along the Africa Tram) is being installed around the bird exhibit immediately before the South Africa field exhibit, that most recently held the mixed African vulture colony.

-If you are very, very lucky, you just might be able to spot a new eastern bongo calf in the African Forest field exhibit!!

-There is also a new Nilgiri tahr kid in the Asian Plains field exhibit, as well!
 
Kudu21 said:
The Safari Park is most famous (at least historically, the platypuses might be what it is most well known for now) for its sprawling field exhibits, which are mostly filled with herds of African ungulates, including crowd-pleasers like giraffe and southern white rhinos and particular rarities like Ugandan kob, red-fronted gazelle, fringe-eared oryx, amongst others. The Park has historically also maintained an impressive African bird collection; however, many of those birds are not currently on display due to HPAI concerns. The lion and Sumatran tiger exhibits at the Park are both widely considered to be some of the best of their kind, so they should not be missed for someone who likes big cats! There is also an exhibit for cheetahs in the African Outpost and an Arabian sand cat in the Nairobi Village for cats of other sizes :p
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Got it！Thank you so much for your help！
 
A couple updates from the Park:
- Cheetah runs are starting to occur a little more regularly, however they aren’t scheduled so it’s entirely by chance whether or not you witness one.
- The western yard in Elephant Valley is nearing completion with the final touches being made to the barrier and off habitat spaces.
- It appears a new group of Southern White Rhinoceros are now in the Rhino Rescue Center as that is now a quiet zone for the Africa Tram.
- The Flamingo Lagoon in Nairobi Village has been drained and work is slated to start on expanding the land area for the flamboyance of Lesser Flamingos.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
- It appears a new group of Southern White Rhinoceros are now in the Rhino Rescue Center as that is now a quiet zone for the Africa Tram..
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Not quite. “Rupert” the male greater one-horned rhinoceros has been living there behind-the-scenes for quite some time now, and so they’re trying to introduce him to the exhibit to split time with the white rhinos.
 
Kudu21 said:
Not quite. “Rupert” the male greater one-horned rhinoceros has been living there behind-the-scenes for quite some time now, and so they’re trying to introduce him to the exhibit to split time with the white rhinos.
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Thanks for the clarification, the Tram referenced them as a new group so it makes more sense now that it’s one male.
 
More and more birds are beginning to return to exhibit around the Park, including the Dalmatian and pink-backed pelicans to the Mombasa Lagoon and the saddle-billed storks to the Bird Delta. The greater flamingo colony has also been given access back to their full exhibit after being in a portioned off section for quite some time now.

The bird exhibit immediately before the South Africa field exhibit and across from the Rhino Rescue Center (most recently home to a mixed flock of African vultures) has now seen a fence line go up along the water's edge, in addition to the anti-predation fencing around the outside.

There is no longer a Nile lechwe in the Grevy's zebra exhibit.

The two male Soemmerring's gazelle calves from last year have been moved back into the former giant eland exhibit with the greater kudu. The females remain in the former slender-horned gazelle exhibit.
 
Alta the female Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, born on 12/26/04 at the Bronx Zoo, was killed on 10/18/24 after a 10 year old male GOHR gained access to her habitat and also injured her then 9 month old calf. The incident is discussed in an USDA Inspection Report dated 12/19/24 for an inspection on 11/18/24.
 

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Elena said:
Alta the female Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, born on 12/26/04 at the Bronx Zoo, was killed on 10/18/24 after a 10 year old male GOHR gained access to her habitat and also injured her then 9 month old calf. The incident is discussed in an USDA Inspection Report dated 12/19/24 for an inspection on 11/18/24.
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This is awful news. How is the calf doing?
 
A couple updates from the Park:
- A pair of Capybara have joined the sheep and goats in the Petting Kraal.
- There are rumblings and rumors of a male Binturong to be paired with the female currently on habitat by Thorntree Terrace.
- The newly renovated Elephant Valley arch has been completed.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
A couple updates from the Park:
- A pair of Capybara have joined the sheep and goats in the Petting Kraal.
- There are rumblings and rumors of a male Binturong to be paired with the female currently on habitat by Thorntree Terrace.
- The newly renovated Elephant Valley arch has been completed.
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The capybara are ambassador animals and just sometimes visit the Petting Kraal for enrichment. That area is being floated for a mixed-species South American exhibit after the final domestics pass, so maybe they’ll be permanent residents eventually? but for now they are just occasional visitors.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
A couple updates from the Park:
- A pair of Capybara have joined the sheep and goats in the Petting Kraal.
- There are rumblings and rumors of a male Binturong to be paired with the female currently on habitat by Thorntree Terrace.
- The newly renovated Elephant Valley arch has been completed.
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What is the current overall status of Elephant Valley? Is there any publicly floated opening time, or is it still currently just sometime this year hopefully? Can you see the elephants from any vistas beyond the temporary viewing area by the herb garden?
 
DavidBrown said:
What is the current overall status of Elephant Valley? Is there any publicly floated opening time, or is it still currently just sometime this year hopefully? Can you see the elephants from any vistas beyond the temporary viewing area by the herb garden?
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The last I heard construction is proceeding ahead of schedule at the moment. The goal since ground was broken for this habitat was a Fall 2025 grand opening. I have heard November thrown around a lot, but that of course could change. I'll take some photos from the balloon next time I'm there to share the most recent progress.

The herb garden viewing has been closed to guests for several months at this point. Currently the only way for general admission guests to view the elephants is by queuing near the Flying Fox House, where groups of ~15 people are escorted by an employee to one of the service road viewing decks for 10-minutes at a time.
 
DavidBrown said:
What is the current overall status of Elephant Valley? Is there any publicly floated opening time, or is it still currently just sometime this year hopefully? Can you see the elephants from any vistas beyond the temporary viewing area by the herb garden?
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I was over at the Zoo yesterday and will be updating Elephant Valley next week, but I was informed that the volunteers and other members of the organization will be updated next month with the strong possibility of a completion date being announced. Currently the timeline is October 2025.
 
A couple of morning updates from the Park :)

-A new male bat-eared fox has been introduced to the resident female on exhibit in the Nairobi Village, and the pair together is very active!

-A pair of Egyptian vultures are back on exhibit in the small African vulture exhibit between the okapi and greater kudu in African Woods!

-The bird exhibit that has been under construction along the Africa Tram is now having a pond dug inside it.

-There are now two rhino crates set in and around the South Africa field exhibit boma, so it looks like at least two of the four rhinos in that area will be moving out soon.

-It appears as though the castrated male wildebeest from the East Africa field exhibit has been moved to join the small herd of young females in the Central Africa field exhibit.
 
In the report for their 2/20/25 inspection, the USDA cited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for multiple critical violations in connection with the deaths of 3 animals:

  • A female greater flamingo was found dead on 12/12/24 and was killed by a bobcat.
  • A male magpie goose was found dead on 12/16/24 with wounds consistent with those from a predator.
  • A female red-flanked duiker was found dead on 12/30/24 with predation the likely cause of death.
 

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Elena said:
In the report for their 2/20/25 inspection, the USDA cited the Zoo for multiple critical violations in connection with the deaths of 3 animals:

  • A female greater flamingo was found dead on 12/12/24 and was killed by a bobcat.
  • A male magpie goose was found dead on 12/16/24 with wounds consistent with those from a predator.
  • A female red-flanked duiker was found dead on 12/30/24 with predation the likely cause of death.
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Unfortunate they're having so many issues with predation.
 
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