San Francisco BOO 👻

Happy Halloween! Thank you to everyone who came out to today’s Boo at the Zoo! Great energy, great costumes, and great fun (and we had fun too!). 🎃🎃🎃

Happy Halloween to our zebras! Our three females use their hooves to interact with their enrichment, kicking the enrichment balls lightly or using their muzzle to roll them so their treats fall out! They have great technique! When zebras are excited, you can tell by their ears, as they point straight up and forward, and they might even bob their heads up and down. You might even hear them snorting in soft manner, or vocalize. Unlike dogs, they do not wag their tails when happy, as zebra tails swish their tails back and forth to swat at insects. They appeared quite engaged with their Halloween treats! 🦓🎃🦓🎃🦓 🎥: Julianna B.

Happy World Lemur Day!   It takes a lot of pumpkins to spell out this important conservation awareness day, and worth the effort because the lemurs had a great time checking everything out!   Lemurs are the most endangered animals on Earth, with 98% of species at risk of extinction. Because they are found only on the island of Madagascar—a critical global biodiversity hotspot where roughly 90% of all wildlife is endemic—it is more important than ever that designation days like World Lemur Day take place. These events sound the alarm about their plight while celebrating their uniqueness and critical ecological role.   Here, we can marvel at our amazing lemur ambassadors, but their wild counterparts face an uncertain future. You can help by supporting lemur conservation organizations and the important work they do.

Coquerel’s sifakas Neil and Karen got into the Halloween spirit investigating their spooky display on this World Lemur Day, an important awareness day for the most endangered animals in the world. Even radiated Garth received treats (though Neil decided he wanted to get in on the miniature treats himself!). Come to Boo at the Zoo on Halloween Saturday to see more animals receive their treats! 👻🎃

Check out the size of that pumpkin! In fact, it’s red panda-sized!   Little Mebo received a giant pumpkin sprinkled with some fruit on top, and where she also found bamboo to munch on (and munch she did!)   How many of you will be dressed as a red panda for Halloween? 🎃

Treats but no tricks!   Our two male chimps, Gombus and Michael, were presented with festive Halloween décor and spooky surprises, and best of all, ghostly goodies, including orange zested green beans, cherry tomatoes and blackberry oatmeal cups! A mini feast among the ghouls! 👻🎃

Our one-and-a-half year old male striped skunk, Tux, checks out a giant pumpkin (“giant” because it’s bigger than him!). Tux is part of the rotation of ambassador animals that can be seen during the Hillside Animal Encounters at the Koret Animal Rescue & Conservation Center (ARC) at 3 p.m. on weekdays. With Halloween just around the corner, we appreciate all the pumpkins donated by our friends at Clancy’s Pumpkins! 📷: Katie M. 🦨🎃

Our meerkats, Margaret and Langa, came upon a spooky scenario with frightful (but funny) skeletons, skulls and pumpkin décor, instead of their usual breakfast layout. And being the busy bees that they are, they checked out everything, as their mealworms and other grub were scattered all over! Halloween for the meerkats is always a treat. See them this Saturday at Boo at the Zoo!👻🎃 🎥: Christina M. 🧙‍♀️

Let’s start off the week with some roses for one-and-a-half-year old Bailey, our female Southern pudu!   As one of the smallest deer species in the world, they are strictly herbivores and prefer nutrient-rich plant parts, fruits and berries, fungi and flowers, and even nuts. She definitely enjoyed the roses!   🎥: Megan B.

Special of the Day: roses! Our two Western Santa Cruz giant tortoises are seen enjoying the sunshine and some tasty roses! This critically endangered species is native to the Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. As giant tortoises, males can weigh between 500-550 lbs., or more! Find them at Puente al Sur. 🎥: Megan B. + natural sound 🔉

Show the love for wolves!   We are celebrating National Wolf Awareness Week that occurs annually every third week in October. Wolves often get a bad rap, and it’s been long-standing for generations, much of it stems from the misconception that wolves kill humans and decimate livestock, when the reality is, like other apex predators, they hunt strictly for sustenance and survival, with only a small fraction of cattle and sheep loss to wolves. As for humans, wolf attacks on humans are rare.   Many species and subspecies remain threatened, like the Mexican gray wolf (the Zoo participates the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program), and the critically endangered red wolf. While we await developments following possible delisting from the Endangered Species Act, we are still hopeful that all the work to repopulate and save subspecies is not impacted.   Come see our Mexican gray wolves at Wolf Canyon!

In honor of International Snow Leopard Day today, our male Jimmy G., and daughter Jinx were treated to snow leopard themed enrichment, snow, plus ice and meat treats! Considered by many as one of the most beautiful and majestic cats in the world, they truly are visually spectacular, with their thick, plush smoky-gray and off-white fur with dark rosette patterns, amazingly striking eyes, and how about that incredible fluffy tail! While currently not classified as endangered, snow leopards are still threatened with extinction. Thanks to conservation organizations like Snow Leopard Conservancy and others, work is being done to protect snow leopards in the wild, while ambassadors like Jimmy G. and Jinx help keep snow leopards top of mind and are a reminder of the importance of their conservation. Thanks to the carnivore and conservation team for their work today to draw attention to this important day! 🎥: Sammy C. and Kevin C.

Have you checked out Dinos Rule! yet? They’re waiting for you! 🦖🦕

Male Komodo dragon Rinca, getting ready to make a move on his new pumpkin-shaped puzzle feeder—packed with delicious quail and guinea pig parts thanks to keeper Stephanie!

Our CEO, Cassandra Costello, is getting around! We know that, as she is learning about the various departments, that we’re able to share some insight too by shadowing Cassandra as she is shadowing staff! She recently shadowed primary lemur keeper, Lori, who gave her a rundown of who’s who, why they vocalize the way they do, and how we accommodate each lemur’s individual needs.

We hosted our annual gala fundraiser this past weekend and it was a sambalicious success! ZooFest 2026: Carnaval Under the Canopy was a colorful and vibrant affair, supporting our animal, conservation and education programs! A big thank you to our honorees, Connie & Bob Lurie, our generous sponsors, stellar attendees, and amazing staff and volunteers for making this an incredible night to remember! 💃

Who makes a beeline to see our Magellanic penguin colony when you first get to the Zoo?! 🐧🐧🐧

Northern spider tortoise Ralph likes what he sees in the mirror! 📷: Stephanie C.

Can we just take a moment and appreciate 46-year-old Bawang, the oldest Western lowland gorilla in our troop? Keeper Jessy helped quench Bawang’s thirst on another hot day, and when she had enough, she was done!

How are you bearing the heat? Ostrich Bernadette loves being sprayed with the hose, and according to her caretaker Julianna, she loves it so much that would sit there all day if we let her!