Come to Roar & Pour this Friday!

Thu Jun 26 16:01:06 PDT 2025

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UPCOMING EVENTS
Join us this Friday!
https://www.sfzoo.org/roar-and-pour/

Get your tickets now for summer's newest go-to event, Roar & Pour (https://www.sfzoo.org/roar-and-pour/)  taking place this Friday, June 27 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.! Come for this unique outdoor wine tasting event with a wild twist, which supports our wildlife conservation programs.

Guests can enjoy a fun evening, sipping, strolling and socializing while tasting a variety of wines from top wineries including Viansa Winery, (https://www.instagram.com/viansawinery/) La Sirena Winery (https://www.instagram.com/lasirenawinery/) , Red Car (https://www.instagram.com/redcarwine/) , Copain Wines (https://www.instagram.com/copainwines/) , Oxlee Graham Wines (https://www.instagram.com/oxleegrahamwines/) , Blackbird Wine (https://www.instagram.com/blackbird_wine/) , Merry Edwards Winery (https://www.instagram.com/merryedwardswinery/) , Tongue Dancer Wines (https://www.instagram.com/tongue_dancer_wines/) , Griffin's Lair Vineyard (https://www.instagram.com/griffinslairvineyard/) , distillery Barberlee Spirits (https://www.instagram.com/barberleespirits/)  and non-alcoholic wine Tomorrow Cellars (https://www.instagram.com/tomorrowcellars/) . Plus, see animals like African lions, grizzly bears and Magellanic penguins!

Roar & Pour guests will also receive a commemorative tasting glass, free rides on the historic Little Puffer miniature steam train and Wild Explorer virtual reality film experience. There will also be a drawing for some fun Zoo swag and a DJ will be on hand, spinning a mix of summer vibes!

Two ticket levels are available: General Admission at $125 and a VIP Experience at $250 and offers an exclusive Premium Wine and Food Experience and giraffe feeding (limited space available). Follow us on our social platforms and check Animail to get the newest announcements. Learn more or purchase tickets here (https://www.sfzoo.org/roar-and-pour/) .

Roar & Pour supports the Zoo's wildlife conservation programs. Open to ages 21+ with ID; children or strollers will not be admitted. Refunds will not be issued for purchased tickets. Parking is complimentary. The event will take place rain or shine.
Spend Your 4th of July at the Zoo!
https://www.sfzoo.org/sf-zoo-sunset-fridays/

We're starting summer off with a bang as our popular after-hours live music event Sunset Fridays (https://www.sfzoo.org/sf-zoo-sunset-fridays/) returns on Friday, July 4 and runs on consecutive Fridays until Friday, August 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Playfield Lawn. Enjoy live music, outdoor bars, kid-friendly activities, and see animals in the Exploration Zone!

In addition to activities at the Playfield Lawn, guests can enjoy the Elinor Friend Playground, historic Dentzel Carousel, the Sculpture Learning Plaza, and food and beverage concession areas.

Zoo members enjoy free admission to Sunset Fridays! Tickets for non-members are $14 per person, 12 and over (children 11 and under are free). Visitors who have a general admission ticket can attend at no extra charge. Tickets can be purchased online or walk-up at ticket window; advance reservations are not required. Folding chairs are allowed; no outside alcoholic beverages please.

For a list of weekly performers, VIP tent rental, and ticket and event information, visit the Sunset Fridays page (https://www.sfzoo.org/sf-zoo-sunset-fridays/) .
CONSERVATION
Rehabbed Frogs Released to the Wild
A full-circle moment that has all the feels! Last week, a large group of endangered Mountain yellow-legged frogs were released to the wild after a year-long rehabilitation process. Since last summer, our conservation and veterinary teams worked to rehabilitate nearly 250 frogs, who were close to death due to a chytrid fungus outbreak where they lived in Kings Canyon National Park. The adults, which ranged in age from about 6 to 15 years, are now healthy and sound with the majority of the females released in a gravid state (or carrying eggs), returning to their homes ready to lay eggs and contribute to the wild population. As the most endangered frog species in California, there are only a few wild populations left in Southern California.

Last summer, in partnership with Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, SEKI Helitack, Sequoia Parks Conservancy, Yosemite National Park, California Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 239 adult frogs were emergency salvaged from the park by volunteer biologists, amphibian experts, and SEKI Helitack staff (trained in the search and rescue of humans in Sequoia-Kings Canyon), who helped with treating and packing frogs at the SEKI Helibase.

The rehabilitation of the frogs started immediately and consisted of an 11-day antifungal treatment process to clear the chytrid infection, day one of which took place at the SEKI Helibase as soon as the frogs arrived via helicopter from high-elevation lakes. The frogs were then brought to SF Zoo by conservation and veterinary staff. After the antifungal treatment, the team force fed each by hand due to their inability to eat, a result of the disease, as the frogs were emaciated. Chytrid fungus prevents water and nutrients from being absorbed through the skin, which dehydrates and weakens frogs, so they struggle to catch prey. Finally, antibiotics were given to a third of the frogs that were the most sick. After the frogs fully recovered, the conservation team microchipped, weighed, measured and identified each as male or female, and cared for the frogs in the Zoo’s Amphibian Quarantine Facility for a year.

As part of this program, scientists from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Recovery Ecology team spermiated 45 of the males for cryopreservation. The samples can potentially be used in the future to fertilize eggs and for genetic analysis without needing to collect tissue or adult frogs from the wild, an incredible opportunity for this endangered species.

Of the 239 frogs that arrived, 219 (92%) were healthy enough to be returned to the wild. Their survival was successful due to the Zoo’s expertise and protocols developed over the past decade to respond to this kind of crisis on a moment’s notice and is one of the first-of-its-kind rescue/rehab operations in captivity for endangered frogs dying from chytrid fungus in the wild.

To support conservation field projects like this, donate directly to the Zoo's conservation fund located here (https://sfzoo.sfz-passport.sfzoo.org/packageDetails/54/navItem/Donations) .
Spotlight on Spider Tortoise
https://www.sfzoo.org/spider-tortoise/
As a biodiversity hotspot, the island of Madagascar is home to over 200,000 animal species, the majority of which are found nowhere else on earth. Among these are 13 tortoise and turtle species that are critically endangered due to illegal wildlife trafficking and habitat loss. At the Zoo, we are home to both radiated tortoises and the Spider tortoise (https://www.sfzoo.org/spider-tortoise/) (Pyxis arachnoides), listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Spider tortoises are the smallest of the Malagasy tortoise species which can grow up to seven inches in length, with the average female about five inches long and the average male 4.5 inches. They have a dark brown or black shell with a yellow web-like pattern, hence the name spider tortoise! The body is dark with yellow spots and the plastron, or lower shell, is semi-hinged, so that spider tortoises are able to retract their head and front legs inside their shell when threatened. Found in southwestern Madagascar, they live in arid and semi-arid scrublands and spiny forests along the coast.

In addition to the illegal pet trade, spider tortoises are being hunted as food, further decimating their populations. Organizations such as Turtle Survival Alliance are working to protect and restore the spiny forests, focusing on reducing deforestation for agriculture, and anti-trafficking networks alert authorities of poachers, and confiscated tortoises are rescued and rehabilitated when possible.

Find our spider tortoise at the window exhibit across from mandrills.
NEWS TO KNOW
Happy PRIDE!
The big San Francisco Pride celebration takes place this weekend in the City, culminating in the one of the biggest Pride parades in the world!  We wish all of you participating and attending, an amazing, wonderful time!

We are proud to be a part of this inclusive, diverse community, where all visitors from every walk of life is welcome. Celebrating our LBGQTIA+ family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and guests during PRIDE and every day.

Be sure to stop by our Gift Shop to pick up Pride merchandise, available through this weekend.
Take a Leap — Become a Zoo Docent!
Zoo Docents bring SF Zoo to life, inspiring guests with their passion for wildlife and conservation. As a volunteer, you'll connect people with animals, foster conservation awareness, and enjoy a supportive community of fellow animal lovers.

If you're interested in becoming a docent, join us for an informational event on Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Lurie Education Center. Enjoy presentations, a zoo tour, a hands-on biofact cart demo, and light refreshments. Parking is complimentary!

Space is limited—reserve your spot today! RSVP tojoin at sfzoodocents.org (mailto:join at sfzoodocents.org)
Learn more about theDocent Program (https://www.sfzoo.org/volunteer-programs-draft/docents/) !
Plastic Free July
The world's collective use of plastic in our everyday lives has had severe consequences on the environment, especially the world's oceans, rivers and lakes. Our reliance on plastic—from bottles to bags to packaging and products—grows more each day, and even though so many of us make conscious efforts to recycle, reuse and repurpose, plastic continues to threaten living organisms and their habitats, and our own health.

Each year, the Plastic Free Foundation hosts Plastic Free July (https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/take-the-challenge/) , a global movement to encourage millions of people to become the solution to plastic pollution. You can participate in Plastic Free July by pledging to take small actions, such as reducing the use of single-use plastics, such as bags, water bottles, straws and cups). Individuals that participate, whether it is from one day to one month, are making a difference.

We encourage you to join us by going plastic-free. In our restaurants, you'll find compostable cups, plates and utensils, and bottled water is sold in reusable aluminum cans, not plastic. Bring your own water bottle to the Zoo and use our refillable water stations.
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens connects all people with wildlife, inspires caring for nature and advances conservation action.

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