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apollonaut. Built by People Who've Been

Journal / History

History, wildlife & conservation

A zoo in the park.
Since 1916.

The story of the San Diego Zoo, from an exposition’s animals to habitats without bars.

Blue Skyfari gondolas gliding above the wooded canyons and red-roofed buildings of the zoo under a bright blue sky
A Skyfari gondola above the trees of the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park.

An exposition’s legacy

The San Diego Zoo grew out of the animals left behind after the Panama–California Exposition of 1915. Dr Harry M. Wegeforth founded the Zoological Society of San Diego, which first met on 2 October 1916, and in 1921 land was set aside in Balboa Park, where the zoo began to move the following year.

Visitors walking past cafés and shops on a zoo plaza under a cloudy sky, with Skyfari gondolas passing overhead
A giraffe reaching for leaves among bare branches, its patterned neck and head in close-up

Habitats without bars

The zoo pioneered open, moated exhibits: its first lion area without enclosing wire opened in 1922. Belle Benchley, its director from 1925 to 1953, guided it through its early decades.

A garden of animals

Today the zoo covers about 100 acres of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego, and it is an accredited botanical garden as well as a zoo. Newer habitats include Elephant Odyssey (2009), Africa Rocks (2017) and Wildlife Explorers Basecamp (2022), and in August 2024 the giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao made their debut at Panda Ridge.

An African elephant with long tusks standing on sandy ground beside a pool, with trees behind

Continue exploring

A giraffe reaching for leaves among bare branches, its patterned neck and head in close-upA zoo without barsHow the zoo changed the way animals are shown.Two turquoise Skyfari gondolas, numbered 45 and 3, on their cables against a clear blue skyWhat to see at the zooThe bus tour, the Skyfari and the habitats.Plan your visit

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