Technology is making a powerful difference in the world of conservation, and our teams are at the forefront.

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 30, 2024) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and San Diego State University (SDSU) are joining forces to usher in a new way of studying snakes. In a collaboration between San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Rulon Clark, Ph.D., professor of biology at SDSU, biologists are tagging wild rattlesnakes with external transmitters and accelerometers. Previously, telemetry devices on snakes had to be surgically implanted—severely limiting this area of study. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and SDSU are among the first to use acceleration technology to study snakes.

Understanding the effects of gold mining is crucial to protecting wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon.

African penguins and California least terns share marine habitat challenges.

Polar bears at the San Diego Zoo are making a vital difference for their species.

SDZWA and our partners use customized drones to collect killer whale breath and monitor orca health in real time.

Local students are discovering the importance of collaboration and teamwork in wildlife conservation.

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 7, 2023) – In 2017, a team of medical experts—including specialists in the treatment of both human and wildlife patients—gathered to assess an esteemed elder resident of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Winston, a critically endangered silverback gorilla. Today, at age 51, he is considered one of the world's oldest male gorillas in managed care.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing the game for wildlife research and conservation.

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 14, 2023) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, in collaboration with Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, reintroduced more than 70 endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs into a lake located in the San Bernardino Mountains. This release marks the first time the Southern California distinct population segment of the mountain yellow-legged frog has been reintroduced into a lake instead of a mountain stream. The frogs were bred at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Beckman Center for Conservation Research between 2020 and 2022, and then reared at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The cross-country effort to save this California frog is part of a robust conservation breeding and reintroduction research program aimed at restoring populations of this declining species throughout its historic range.