Animal welfare advocates have accused the San Francisco Zoo of scrapping its plan to lease giant pandas from China and purging animal care managers – all while experiencing an internal fiscal crisis. These claims are denied by the zoo, even as city officials move to extend it a loan of up to $8.5 million and the zoo’s own audited financial statements show two consecutive years of losses.
For more than 95 years, the San Francisco Zoo has been a destination for locals and tourists alike.
Pandas are coming to the San Francisco Zoo as part of a Chinese practice called “panda diplomacy.” The SF Zoo has been selected to host the pandas which was proudly announced during SF Mayor London Breed’s week-long business trip to China last month.
San Francisco Zoo and Gardens recently became home to a 2-year-old male pygmy hippopotamus, the first of this endangered species here since 2004. Today, SF Zoo officials announced his name, “Udo,” (pronounced “Ooh-Dough”) which translates to “peace” in the Igbo language of West Africa.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 