Pandas- San Diego Zoo

  Fun facts

• The People's Republic of China sent two giant pandas, Basi and Yuan Yuan, to the San Diego Zoo for a 200-day loan in 1987. More than two million people were able to view the pandas during their stay.
• On August 21, 1999, Bai Yun gave birth to Hua Mei, the first giant panda born in North America to survive to adulthood. Millions of people around the world watched Hua Mei grow up via the Zoo's Panda Cam.
• In 1979, the Zoo began working with Chinese zoos to help many of China's endangered animals, including red pandas, takins, and Manchurian cranes.
• A panda narrator is at the panda's main viewing area daily to share the latest news and to answer guests' questions about the "bamboo bears."
• Bamboo is grown on Zoo grounds and at several off-grounds locations to supply the pandas with their daily meals.
• The San Diego Zoo has the largest number of giant pandas in the United States.

Elephants- San Diego Zoo 

Fun facts

• A herd of seven African elephants, scheduled to be culled in Swaziland due to overpopulation, safely arrived in San Diego on a truly "jumbo" plane in August 2003. They are one of the most genetically valuable African elephant herds in North America.
• One of the Park's Asian elephants, Carol, became famous in the 1970s for her ability to "paint." Her paintings were used as fund-raisers.
• An African elephant named Hatari starred in a 1962 motion picture of the same name with John Wayne before arriving at the Wild Animal Park.
• In 1989 the Wild Animal Park began a "protected contact" system for handling elephants. In this system, keepers work with elephants from a shielded position, usually behind a barrier with openings that allows access to the elephant. We now work with other animal species in the same way.
• It's not a UFO! The round, yellow object in the background of our Elephant Cam is the Park's Balloon Safari ride.

Polar Bears- San Diego Zoo

Fun facts

• The Zoo received its first polar bear in 1917. It was displayed in a cage. In 1926 a new polar bear grotto was complete, one of the world's first barless enclosures.
• Polar Bear Plunge is one of the largest polar bear exhibits in the world.
• Snow is added to the polar bears' exhibit for special occasions. The bears enjoy playing on the white stuff, slipping, sliding, and even eating it!
• The duck pond is chilled to 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (12 to 15 degrees Celsius)=very comfortable for these arctic residents.
• Kids can climb on or pose with two life-sized stainless steel polar bear sculptures.