Latest San Diego Zoo Stories
In what BBC News Environmental Correspondent Richard Black has called, "a novel marriage of conservation and modern biology," researchers have successfully produced stem cells from a pair of endangered species. Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, who detail their work in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Methods on September 4, 2011, started with normal skin cells from the a west African monkey called the drill and the northern white rhino. They were...
The results of a study recently published in the journal Biology Letters indicate that giant pandas need old-growth forests as much as bamboo forests. This work, which was completed through the collaborative efforts of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Science, San Diego Zoo Global, China West Normal University, China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department, could assist conservationists in creating strategic plans that help conserve this critically...
A US-born panda gave birth to her eighth cub in southwest China on Friday, a rare achievement for the endangered species that has been extremely hard to breed in captivity, Chinese media reported this weekend. The panda, named Hua Mei, was born at the San Diego Zoo in August 1999. She gained famed for being the first giant panda born in captivity to survive until adulthood in the United States. She was relocated to the Wolong preserve in Sichuan Province, China in 2004 once she reached...
Winning Team for 'Project Polar Bear' will Travel to the Polar Bear Capital of the World- Churchill, Manitoba, Canada on the Western Hudson Bay SAN DIEGO, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four teams of teenagers will travel from across the United States and Canada to San Diego to present how they are working to decrease carbon emissions in their communities. The teams from Louisville, Ky., Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Okla., and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada are finalists for the 2009 Project Polar...
Four endangered Northern White rhinos are to be transferred to a Kenyan reserve in a desperate attempt to save the species.Dana Holeckova, director of the Dvur-Kralove zoo in central Czech Republic said, "We must offer them this last chance, in their natural environment in Africa."There's only eight remaining Northern White rhinos in existence all living in captivity, six at Dvur-Kralove and two more at San Diego Zoo in the United States.The last reported birth was in 2000 at...
The veterinarian for the San Diego Zoo conducted his first examination of the panda cub born last month and has discovered it's a boy, zoo officials say. The 2.8-pound cub hasn't opened his eyes yet, but veterinarian Geoff Pye says he's in good condition, very roly poly, the San Diego Union Tribune reported Friday. Zoo officials say the exam lasted only about five minutes and the cub remained quiet. His mother, 18-year-old Bai Yun, gave birth to cubs in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He is the second...
Famous San Diego Zoo panda Bai Yun had her fifth cub following a 130-day pregnancy that zookeepers said ended with an easy delivery.The cub became just the 14th panda born in the US, including five that live in San Diego. Prior to the birth, the mother bathed herself, moved onto her back and grabbed her hind legs."We saw a contraction and then about five seconds later, we just heard a wailing cry of the cub. ... It was a very vocal cub, it was like whoa. ... It's got a really good set...
For the first time in nearly 50 years, a population of a nearly extinct frog has been rediscovered in the San Bernardino National Forest's San Jacinto Wilderness. Biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessing suitability of sites to re-establish frogs and scientists from the San Diego Natural History Museum retracing a 1908 natural history expedition both rediscovered the rare mountain yellow-legged frog in the San Jacinto Wilderness near Idyllwild, Calif.This re-discovery...
A Lowry Park Zoo worker speaking on behalf of the Tampa, Fla., site's new koala says on Twitter the animal enjoyed an exciting voyage to its new home. The unidentified zookeeper offered Twitter updates on behalf of Bundaleer the koala as the animal traveled from the San Diego Zoo to Tampa Tuesday, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times said. G'Day mates! Bundaleer the koala here. We're off to the airport and on our way to Tampa, FL, the zookeeper said through the social networking service....
A rare California condor chick has hatched in Baja California on a cliff side, according to the San Diego Zoo.The zoo announced the hatching on Thursday. This is only the second time a condor chick has hatched since 2002 in Mexico, when the zoo reintroduced the endangered species to the area.In 2007 another chick hatched, but it disappeared a month later. The newest chick was immunized against West Nile virus when biologists rappelled down a 330 foot cliff to the nest to...
Latest San Diego Zoo Reference Libraries
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), also known as the panda, is a species of bear that is native to southwestern and central western areas of China. Its range includes mountain ranges located primarily in Sichuan province, but pandas can also be found in the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It once preferred a habitat within lowland areas, but human encroachment has driven the giant panda into small areas, which contain forested habitats. There are two recognized subspecies of the giant...
The Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus), also known as the bearded pig, is native to Southeast Asia. Its range includes the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and other small islands. It prefers a habitat within mangrove forests and rainforests. This pig holds two subspecies, and is recognizable by its furry beard and sometimes by a tuft of fur on its tail. The Bornean bearded pig lives in familial groups and can mate at eighteen months of age. It is possible to crossbreed this species with...
Cuvier's gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) is also known as the edmi and is native to Africa. Its range includes Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, through the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa. It prefers a habitat within stony or sandy hills and plateaus, but it will reside pine forests or recovering forests. Some experts do not classify it within the typical gazelle genus, but in the Trachelocele genus. Cuvier's gazelle is small in stature, reaching an average height of 4.2 feet and a weight...
Speke's gazelle (Gazella spekei) is native to Africa, and its range is limited to the horn. Named after John Hanning Speke (), this gazelle prefers a habitat within semi deserts, stony brush, and grass steppes. It is the smallest of all gazelle species. Because the range of this gazelle is highly fragmented, it is difficult to understand how it migrates. There are less than ten thousand individuals in the wild, and as of 2008, Speke’s gazelle was given a conservation status of...
