See Animals Receive Holiday Treats This Weekend!

Fri Dec 13 10:32:09 PST 2024

Become a Member (https://www.sfzoo.org/membership/)                                             Donate (https://www.sfzoo.org/donate-today/)                                                              Get Tickets (https://www.sfzoo.org/?keyword=General%20Admission)
See Animals Receive Holiday Treats This Weekend!
https://www.sfzoo.org/joy-at-sf-zoo/
As your kids are gearing up to open their holiday presents this season, visit the Zoo to see our animal residents enjoy their holiday-themed enrichment! This Saturday & Sunday, December 14 & 15, follow a full schedule of animal treat presentations and watch as they enjoy their special treats! Both Saturday and Sunday, be among the first 10 families to line up at the Family Farm to help staff decorate Christmas trees to give to our barnyard animals starting at 10:30 a.m.

Be sure to snap the schedule (https://www.sfzoo.org/joy-at-sf-zoo/) when you enter at the Gatehouse!
Christmas Carolers to Perform
Get into the holiday spirit on Saturday and Sunday, December 21 & 22 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to enjoy classic Christmas songs sung by The Merrie Olde Christmas Carolers at Entry Village. Decked out in traditional Dickens attire, the carolers will delight you with your favorite holiday standards, so much so that you may even want to sing along to the songs we all know and love.

And while you’re here, be sure to check out the latest virtual reality experience with a holiday twist. Elf Power is available for a limited time only at the VR Zone along with Gorilla Trek and The Great Migration!
Dog Days at SF Zoo
After the overwhelmingly “pawsitive” feedback we received from of our recent Dog Days at SF Zoo event and the many requests to host more days like this, we are announcing that our next tail-wagging events will take place on Tuesday, December 24th and Saturday, January 11, 2025. Similar to our first event, only a limited number of dogs can be on-site at any one time for the safety of our guests, staff and animals, so guests are required to reserve a time to come with their dog.

We are now instituting a new way to reserve the visit with your pet.

As a way to provide everyone with an equal chance, you will be required to register via email at dogdays at sfzoo.org instead of using our call-in number. Guests will be chosen randomly from emails received on December 16 and 17.

Please provide the following information in your email:
* Name
* City
* Phone number
* Name of dog
* Dog breed
* Coat color
* Size (small, medium, large)
* Preferred Time Slot: 9:30am, 11:30am, or 1:30pm

Once the timeframe is closed, Guest Services will randomly select emails to contact. Guests are allowed just one dog per reservation and each dog must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age. More information can be found on sfzoo.org.

More Info (https://www.sfzoo.org/special-programs/)
Taking Precautions
You may have noticed on a recent visit that indoor exhibit areas, such as the African Aviary and South American Tropical Rainforest & Aviary were closed. This is a temporary situation as we are taking extra precautionary measures due to the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a viral infection that poses a threat to birds, mammals and in rare cases, humans.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have closed walk-through aviaries to protect the birds and are following biosecurity protocols to minimize the risk of transmission. In addition to our own birds, we are also monitoring for ill wild birds to protect the Zoo’s animals, staff, and guests. We apologize for the inconvenience.

In addition to protecting our animals, the Zoo's measures have been taken to protect our guests and staff, even though this virus primarily affects birds. Human infections are rare, occurring only when there is exposure to animals affected with avian influenza. Despite this, the Zoo is taking maximum steps to reduce any chance of infection, with no cases of infection among Zoo staff or visitors reported.
Welcome Smiling Sheep!
New to the Fisher Family Farm are a quartet of nearly eight-month old male Babydoll sheep, a rare heritage breed that originated in the late 1700s in England. While they are short in stature, they are big in personality! As a small breed, they are considered rare. The foursome are two pairs of siblings, and are currently residing in the Zoo’s Exploration Zone where they will eventually mix with the other Family Farm animals and guests. We hope you will find their perennial “smiles” irresistible!
National Day of the Horse

If you haven't visited our Przewalski's horses already, you're in for a treat. These critically endangered equines, an ancient species known as the last truly wild horse because they have never been domesticated, was once listed as extinct in their native Mongolia. The species has seen a recovery thanks to coordinated captive breeding and conservation efforts by accredited zoos and global organizations, and the successful introduction of the species to national parks in both Mongolia and China.

You can see our two females, 23-year old “Bajkit” and 18-year-old “Solongo,” in our Asian Conservation Zone, located near Bear Country. They are striking physically when comparing them to domestic horses as they are stocky and short in stature and have a short, spiky mane. Not immediately noticeable is the dark stripe that runs down their back.

You can also visit our miniature horses, “Viggo” and “Carmela” at the Family Farm, located in the Zoo’s Exploration Zone.
Give a Gift Membership for a Year’s Worth of Zoo Visits!
https://www.sfzoo.org/?keyword=Gift%20Memberships
Your gift of a Zoo Membership is more than giving a loved one free admission to SF Zoo & Gardens for an entire year. A Zoo Membership also gifts that special someone access to the most popular kids’ destination in the Bay Area! Memberships come with benefits that includes special discounts, exclusive access to special events, previews and more! And importantly, your purchase benefits the Zoo by helping support our mission to connect people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature and advance conservation action. Gift memberships are available for all membership tiers and become active when the gift recipient redeems the gift at the ticket window or by emailing membership at sfzoo.org.

Purchase Now (https://www.sfzoo.org/?keyword=Gift%20Memberships)
Shop in the Zoo Gift Shop This Holiday Season!
Do your holiday shopping in our Zoo Gift Shop and find unique animal-themed apparel, drinkware, jewelry, toys, games and more! With eco-friendly products and exclusive merchandise only available here, you’ll feel great about checking everyone off of your “Nice List”. Proceeds from your purchase support the Zoo’s mission and help fund critical animal care, education, and conservation programs. Zoo Members receive a 10% discount and Guardians save 20% on all non-sale merchandise.
Tsunami Alert and Zoo Response

We wanted to take a moment to respond to many of you who expressed concern about the Zoo during the recent national weather emergency and tsunami warning. Among the many protocols we enact during natural emergency situations is for tsunamis. As a coastal zoo and just inland from the Pacific Ocean, we are considered in the immediate tsunami zone. As such, after receiving the one-hour advance notification, we safely evacuated all guests, secured our animals (most had access to indoor enclosures), while staff and volunteers moved to higher ground. Areas that would likely be affected in the event of a tsunami would be the parking lot, Entry Village, African Savanna and lower lying areas such as the Children’s Zoo and playground area.
As you are aware, the alert was lifted and the Zoo remained closed for the rest of the day. Thank you for your concern.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens connects all people with wildlife, inspires caring for nature and advances conservation action.

The Zoo is located at Sloat Blvd. & Great Highway

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