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San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, housing over 12,000 animals of more than 680 species and subspecies on 100 acres (40 ha) of Balboa Park. The zoo is the most visited in the United States.[6][7] Travelers have cited it as one of the best zoos in the world.[8][9] The zoo was a pioneer in the concept of open-air, cage-less exhibits that recreate natural animal habitats.[10] It sits on land leased from the City of San Diego.[11][12]

San Diego Zoo

1916 (Precursor Panama–California Exposition in previous year)

99 acres (40 ha)[1]

3,700+[1]

650+ (incl. subspecies)[1]

4 million (2018)[2]

Absolutely Apes, Children's Zoo, Elephant Odyssey, Panda Trek, Lost Forest, Monkey Trails, Polar Bear Plunge

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
Bus Route 7; Rapid Bus 215

The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Its parent organization, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a private nonprofit conservation organization, and has one of the largest zoological membership associations in the world. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance also operates the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Zoo Corps[edit]

Zoo Corps is a volunteer program at the San Diego Zoo that enlists high school students to teach guests at the zoo about the animals they are seeing and their place in the ecosystem. It enrolls students between 13 and 17 years of age. The goals are to promote public education about animals and conservation, and to help the students develop their ability to speak in public. The program runs year round in two sessions, one from May through November and one from January through May. Members of the Zoo Corps are expected to volunteer at least once a month.[93]


The program uses a series of "Kits", which are set on tables throughout the zoo. The kits contain objects that can be used to explain why an animal is endangered or to shed light on the animal's lifestyle. The four kits are "Backyard Habitats", "Saving Species", "Animal Care", and "Sustainability".

Architecture[edit]

Local architect Louis John Gill designed the original buildings, cages and animal grottos and later in 1926, the Spanish Revival-style research hospital, for which Gill received an Honor Award from the San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Gill also designed a bird cage at the zoo in 1937, then the largest bird cage in the world.[94]

The very first and oldest surviving YouTube video, , was shot in San Diego Zoo and was uploaded to YouTube on April 23, 2005, by the website's co-founder, Jawed Karim. It can still be viewed on YouTube. A marker was placed near the elephant exhibit to commemorate this upload.[102][103]

Me at the zoo

The shots of the private zoo at in Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane were filmed at the San Diego Zoo.[104]

Xanadu

The San Diego Zoo was the filming location for the long-running documentary television series .[105]

Zoorama

In addition to its normal publicity efforts, and web page, the zoo also produced a short TV program for a number of years with . Joan Embery brought various animals to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson between 1971 and 1987, and more recently (between 1993 and 2008) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The zoo loaned the animals.[106]

Joan Embery

The zoo was featured prominently in the 2004 movie , though filming was done at the old Los Angeles Zoo, not at the San Diego Zoo.[107]

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

The zoo is featured in the 1979 film , in which each of the five teams in a scavenger hunt steals an ostrich from the zoo. (Actual ostriches were not used.)[108]

Scavenger Hunt

The front cover of ' 1966 album Pet Sounds was photographed at the San Diego Zoo.[109]

The Beach Boys

' first album Wasps' Nests includes a song called "San Diego Zoo",[110] which features comprehensive directions on how to get to the zoo.

The 6ths

The photographs in 's children's book I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo were taken at the San Diego Zoo, and featured children from the Francis Parker School in San Diego interacting with the zoo's animals and staff.[111]

Helen Palmer

The game show Animal Planet ZooVenture taped at the San Diego Zoo between 1998 and 2000. was the host.

JD Roth

a giant panda formerly housed at the San Diego Zoo

Bai Yun

Panda diplomacy

Amero, Richard W. (2013). Balboa Park and the 1915 Exposition (1st ed.). Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press.  9781626193451. OCLC 858603470.

ISBN

Bruns, Bill (April 16, 1983). A World of Animals : the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. Abrams.  9780810916012. OCLC 9440826.

ISBN

Christman, Florence (1985). The Romance of Balboa Park (4th ed.). San Diego: San Diego Historical Society.  9780918740038. OCLC 11916664.

ISBN

Diamant, Kathi. Heart of the Zoo: How San Diego Zoo Director Chuck Bieler Earned His Stripes. Nashville, TN: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press.  9781935442790. OCLC 1326281412.

ISBN

Gould, Tom; Greeley, Maureen. The San Diego Zoo. San Diego, California: Zoological Society of San Diego.  40984194.

OCLC

Myers, Douglas (1999). . The Zoological Society of San Diego. ISBN 9780911461152. OCLC 44427194.

Mister Zoo: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Charles Schroeder: The World-Famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park's Legendary Director

Showley, Roger M. (1999). Balboa Park: A Millennium History. Heritage Media Corp.  9781886483408. OCLC 43546558.

ISBN

Wegeforth, Harry Milton; Morgan, Neil. It began with a roar! : The beginning of the world-famous San Diego Zoo. San Diego, California: Zoological Society of San Diego.  23937788.

OCLC

Official website

PBS Nature: San Diego Zoo

Balboa Park

YouTube channel