Sequoia Park Zoo

08/30/2026

Who is that handsome peccary at the wallow? It’s Ramone, and today we are celebrating his 18th birthday!

Incredibly, there are only three Chacoan peccaries older than him at other zoos. Stop by the Sequoia Park Zoo at 2pm today to join the birthday celebration and wish him well in his golden years!

08/29/2026

Check out the checker mallow blooming at the Zoo! 🌸

Also called checker bloom (Sidalcea malviflora), this pretty pink perennial tolerates a variety of soils and prefers damp winters and dry summer conditions. Checker bloom supports butterflies, native bees, and other pollinators! At the Zoo, you can see checker mallow growing along the path around the bush dog habitat.

08/28/2026

🎉 Zoo Members! 🎉 Bring a Friend Friday is TODAY - Friday, August 28, 2026!

On the last Friday of every month, Sequoia Park Zoo Members are invited to bring a friend (adult or youth) to the Zoo with them for FREE!

Questions about your membership status? Email [email protected] or call 707-441-4263 x5 to speak with the Membership Coordinator.

Not a Zoo Member? Visit redwoodzoo.org/158/Membership to learn more!

08/28/2026

Are you missing our winter Conservation Lecture Series? You can view our collection of past lectures on our YouTube page!

Click on the Conservation Lecture Series playlist (listed from newest to oldest lecture) for the full list of lectures at www.youtube.com/

These lectures are hosted by the Sequoia Park Zoo Advisory Group's Conservation Council.

08/27/2026

Something BIG is brewing...

🔗 https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/oktobearfest-at-sequoia-park-zoo

🐻 OktoBEARfest at Sequoia Park Zoo presented by Humboldt Cider Company
📅 Saturday, October 10, 2026; 4-7PM
📍 3414 W Street, Eureka 95503
🎟️ $25 in advance; $30 at the gate

This 21+ after-hours fundraiser celebrates BEARS and BREWS while benefiting conservation and animal programs at the Zoo. Come for the cider - stay for the science!

08/26/2026

Can you believe how big the baby crested screamer is? Born May 9, she is about 15 weeks old already. Crested screamer chicks can be independent from their parents at only 13 weeks old!

Baby sister looks big, but she still has some growing up to do (Big sister BB is on the left, baby is on the right in the photo.) Here's how to tell the youngest screamer apart from the rest of the flock:

⚖ She still weighs a kilogram less than her mom (2.4 kg compared to 3.4 kg).
⚫ Her black neck ring is not yet present.
🪶 Her chest feathers lack the strong speckled pattern of an adult, still looking more diffused.
🔴 Finally, her face is still pretty grey, especially around her eye - unlike the bright red color on her older sister and parents.

08/25/2026

🎉 Zoo Members! 🎉 Bring a Friend Friday is this Friday, August 28, 2026!

On the last Friday of every month, Sequoia Park Zoo Members are invited to bring a friend (adult or youth) to the Zoo with them for FREE!

Questions about your membership status? Email [email protected] or call 707-441-4263 x5 to speak with the Membership Coordinator.

Not a Zoo Member? Visit redwoodzoo.org/158/Membership to learn more!

08/24/2026

The Northern California Condor Restoration Program will be attempting to release some of the new cohort of wild California condors at the local release site today. Conditions are not quite right yet (described below), but you can watch live on the Yurok Condor Live Feed!

https://www.yuroktribe.org/yurok-condor-live-feed

"The NCCRP is attempting a release this morning of the first condors of this year's cohort. The NCCRP crew is patiently waiting for the right conditions, including having free-flying birds at the site as a welcoming committee to increase our young condors' comfort level. As always, releases will be conducted as "soft releases," in which juvenile condors are lured into the double door trap (DDT), a portion of the release and management facility designed to selectively funnel ready-to-be-released condors out the door, while keeping the remaining birds safely contained until it's their turn to fly free. The condors will need to enter the DDT of their own volition, at which point the door to the main flight pen will be closed remotely, and the door to the outside opened. This process may take a few as a few hours, or potentially a few days, depending on the condors themselves."

08/23/2026

That’s a wrap on the 2025/2026 butterfly rearing season! All of the Behren’s silverspot butterflies have been released to boost the endangered population in Mendocino. Final numbers will be shared soon.

We released our last butterflies a couple weeks ago, bringing the 2025-26 season to a close. What wasn’t on my bingo card was not being able to find new Behrens’ Silverspot butterflies to lay eggs for the 2026-27 season. It’s been a cold foggy summer, so the flight season may have ended early. Or the butterflies may have been eaten by an unusually large population of migratory dragonflies in the area. Whatever the reason, we have only been able to capture one female Behrens’ Silverspot. She is one of the captive reared butterflies we recently released, and may not have been mated because her eggs are not fertile.

Last week, I joined the capture team in the field. As I chased what I hoped was a Behrens’ Silverspot over uneven ground, I tripped and fell…twice. Each time, I resighted the butterfly, picked myself up, and kept running. Ultimately it got away, but I see this as an analogy for the coming year. I’ve got to pick myself up and keep my eye on the prize. And use creativity and resourcefulness to pursue different strategies for helping the Behrens’ Silverspot, even if I can’t rear caterpillars.

Update on the final number of butterflies released coming soon!

08/23/2026

What are those?!

Crested screamers may seem like slow, gentle waterfowl, but they are not messing around when it comes to defense adaptations! Males and females have two sharp spurs around each wrist that they use to defend their territory from other screamers and to defend themselves from predators.

Screamers will raise their strong wings and forcefully jab their spurs at predators. (In humans, this technique and power might be akin to the diving elbow drop in professional wrestling! BAM, OUCH!) In this photo, Ivana is just stretching, but the view of her spurs is excellent!