Santa Barbara Zoo

24/07/2025

Kind Fest is tomorrow, July 25! 🤗🎉

Join us for Kind Fest on Friday, July 25 from 4 to 8 PM! Celebrate the importance of being kind to each other, animals, and the planet all evening long at this kid-friendly festival!

Fun and friendly times to be had include bounce houses, face painting, music, games, a climbing wall, and of course, animal encounters!

For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.sbzoo.org/events-calendar/event/4858867

𝘈 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴-𝘶𝘱: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘡𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 3:30 𝘗𝘔 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 25 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 2:00 𝘗𝘔, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘉 𝘡𝘰𝘰 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 2:30 𝘗𝘔.

Alt-text: A photo of children playing on the Zoo’s iconic “Ant Hill” with the Kind Fest logo in the top right corner of the frame.

24/07/2025

Our zookeepers wear their love for wildlife on their sleeves …literally! 🐒🎨🖋️

Tattooing has been practiced for thousands of years, and this powerful, artistic form of self-expression and celebration is very much alive and well today. In order of appearance, we’d like to spotlight:

💀 Keeper Ariel’s gorilla skull adorned with Western lowland gorillas Bangori and Nzinga’s birth flowers: violet and lily of the valley (left), and portraits of dearly departed Masai giraffes Audrey (middle) and Michael (right)

🐀 Keeper Brooke’s portrait of her favorite capybara: Antonio!

🐢 Keeper Maureen's portraits of a couple of her favorite animal species she’s gotten to work with: the desert tortoise (left) and red-fronted lemur (right)

🐍 Keeper Kelli’s snake tattoo– An animal that she once was afraid of, but has since fallen in love with working with after becoming a zookeeper

🦍 Keeper Katie’s fine line gorilla and red panda– A symbol of her love for working with a variety of different animal species

🦒 Keeper Morgan’s tattoo of the first animal she had the pleasure of working with as a zookeeper: The Masai giraffe

🐶 Keeper Jane’s memorial tattoo for her childhood dog, Daisy– The inspiration for her pursuit of a career in animal care

🐒 Keeper Cassie’s memorial tattoo of Jasmine the white-handed gibbon brachiating along bottlebrush flowers (found on Gibbon Island at the Zoo), and Jari the white-handed gibbon’s handprint in blue

Alt-text: A slideshow of Santa Barbara zookeepers showing off their animal tattoos described in the above caption.

23/07/2025

22/07/2025

Chief the Burmese python is enjoying this in his new digs in Tropical Wonders! 🌴👅🐍

Snakes like Burmese pythons flick their forked tongues in and out of their mouth to pick up odors. They grab smell molecules with their tongue and transmit them to the Jacobson's organ in the roof of the mouth that connects to their brain to smell.

See Chief explore his new home when Tropical Wonders opens to the public this Friday, July 25!

Alt-text: Chief the Burmese python sticks out his forked tongue as he keeps his head above the surface of the water of his Tropical Wonders habitat pool in the first picture. In the second, Chief slithers out of the pool and heads to the other side of his habitat as he explores the space.

21/07/2025

Meet one of the residents of Tropical Wonders: The Fiji banded iguana! 🤩👋🦎

The Fiji banded iguana is an endangered lizard native to the Fijian Islands. They get their name from the bluish-green stripes present on males of the species.

Arboreal by nature, Fiji banded iguanas eat mostly leaves, fruits, and flowers. Though they spend most of their time in the trees, they are also excellent swimmers!

Check them out for yourself when Tropical Wonders opens to the public this Friday, July 25!

Alt-text: A Fiji banded iguana wraps itself around a branch in its Tropical Wonders habitat. The bright green lizard’s long tail hangs behind it as it points its visible red-orange eye at our camera.

20/07/2025

It’s National Zookeeper Week! 🤠🙌🐒

Zookeepers are the cornerstone of the Zoo. These multi-talented professionals are part animal caretakers, part educators and public speakers, and part researchers. Every day, they put their passion for wildlife to work and share the stories of the many animals that call the Zoo home.

In honor of National Zookeeper Week, we’ll be highlighting our keeper crew and their diligent efforts to keep the Zoo wild. Be sure to stay tuned all week long!

Alt-text: Photos of our animal care pros leading keeper talks all about the Zoo. In the first, Keeper Ellie shows off a tawny frogmouth stumping on her arm to a crowd of Zoo guests. Next, Keeper Ryan stands tall while giving a talk at the Amur leopard habitat. Finally, Keeper Addy leans on a handrail and admires a Malagasy sacred ibis during an aviary keeper talk.

19/07/2025

He attac, he protec, but most importantly: He cool as hecc! 😎🐆



Alt-text: Pictures of Tamur the Amur leopard. In the first, Tamur flashes his fangs as he peers around a corner in his habitat at the Zoo. In the next, Tamur lies on his belly and peeks out from behind some bright green foliage. Finally, Tamur cooly looks right at our camera it the last shot.

18/07/2025

A wonderful addition to the Zoo is coming soon! 🌴👀

Save the date! Tropical Wonders is nearing completion and will open to the public on Friday, July 25!

Featuring tropical animals from around the world, the reimagined indoor space features a brighter and more open guest experience with nine individual animal habitats and interactive areas, including a sensory wall, crawl-through tunnel, and basking rock. In the attached Thomas & Nancy Crawford Aviary, the space is open and features added seating, an improved water feature, and additional tropical plants.

Tropical Wonders celebrates the variety and interconnectedness of all living organisms on our planet. By bringing guests closer to a variety of underrepresented (and often misunderstood) animals, we hope to inspire an appreciation for the interdependence of humans, animals, and plants.

Alt-text: Sneak peek photos of Tropical Wonders at the Zoo! In the first, we see the Tropical Wonders sign outside of the Thomas & Nancy Crawford Aviary. Next, we peer into the space a see keepers evaluating habitat foliage. Next, we spy a bright pink bench with punch out text that reads “Save wildlife and wild places.” Finally, Keeper Addy waves at us from within one of the Tropical Wonders habitats.

17/07/2025

Ruby’s never met a branch she didn’t like! 🌳❤️🐾

Red pandas love to climb! It’s a good thing they’re well-equipped to do just that: They’ve got semi-retractable claws to grip tree bark, big tails to help them keep their balance, and flexible ankles and a pseudo-thumb that allows them to make descents head first!

Alt-text: Ruby the red panda pauses and looks back as she makes her way along a branch bridge. Her claws and long, fluffy tail are visible in this close-up shot.

16/07/2025

Today is World Snake Day! 🌎💚🐍

Snakes are some of the most beautiful and misunderstood animals in the world. They help maintain ecological balance by preying upon rodents that, left unchecked, might threaten food webs.

Popular media often portrays snakes as scary or outright monsters when in reality, most snakes pose little threat to humans and typically avoid us altogether unless provoked.

Snakes from around the world are represented at the Zoo, from the Burmese python of southeastern Asia to the Southern Pacific rattlesnake found here in southwestern California!

Alt-text: Pictures of snakes around the Zoo. In the first, Chief the Burmese python rests his head on his midsection as guests admire him on the other side of his habitat’s observation window glass. Next, a Jamaican boa coils and slithers around a branch. We see Rico the Southern Pacific rattlesnake shoot his tongue out as he slides down a branch in the third picture. Finally, a false water cobra ties itself into a knot around some forked foliage in the last photo.

15/07/2025

Meet Nugget the Chilean flamingo! 👋🦩

Nugget was born with an impaired foot that required amputation. After a successful procedure, our Animal Care & Health team designed and hand-sewed a custom “shoe” for Nugget to maintain her quality of life.

Catch Nugget confidently striding alongside the rest of the flamingo flamboyance in the Chilean flamingo habitat!

Alt-text: Nugget the Chilean flamingo looks back at our camera as she flamingles with the rest of the Chilean flamingo flock while sporting her signature grey bo**ie on her right leg.

14/07/2025

POV: You’re one of the Burmese mountain tortoises that share a habitat with Raj and Ruby the red pandas! 👁️👄👁️

: Raj and Ruby have roommates! Keep an eye out for a pair of Burmese mountain tortoises that roam around the ground floor of the red panda habitat.

Alt-text: We see a low-angle shot of Ruby the red panda (front) and Raj the red panda (behind) looking down at our camera. In the second, Mathilda the Burmese mountain tortoise smiles at our camera as she crawls through the grass.