After nearly a decade, the Santa Ana Zoo has regained full accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums — the independent, nonprofit organization that sets standards for facilities across the country and globally.
The city-owned zoo joins more than 250 facilities the association has accredited nationwide, including the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, signifying Santa Ana now meets its rigorous standards for animal care, veterinary services, facility safety, and financial health.
The accreditation marks a major transformation for the zoo, underscored by new projects and upgrades, including the upcoming River’s Edge exhibit, a multi-species habitat set to open this month.
“This is the biggest animal project we’ve ever done — the most complex — and it’s gonna be really special,” said the zoo’s director, Ethan Fisher, who has worked at the institution since 2001.
The exhibit is a significant upgrade from its 25- to 30-year-old predecessor, which Fisher said was plagued by a broken filtration system and forced animals to be indoors for up to 15 hours a day, a situation that compromised their well-being. Designed with modern zoological practices in mind, the new habitat prioritizes the animals’ ability to choose their environment, and features an overhead trail system and areas with heaters.
Its inhabitants will include giant South American river otters, howler monkeys and golden lion tamarins, but the primary residents are a group of nine spider monkeys. This group represents a core part of the zoo’s conservation mission, as most were victims of illegal wildlife trafficking from Mexico and Central America.
Fisher said the trafficking of Mexican spider monkeys into the United States, usually as infants to be pets, is an ongoing issue. He added that “a lot of them don’t survive all the rigors of all this.”
The zoo’s group includes eight juveniles, all less than a year old and confiscated from situations in Texas and California, often arriving malnourished. An adult monkey has been integrated into the group to help the young, orphaned “spiders” develop natural behaviors.
Interactive educational displays along the exhibit will provide information on deforestation, wildlife trafficking, and rainforest conservation.
River’s Edge is one of several upgrades planned at the Santa Ana Zoo as it rebounds from the loss of its accreditation in 2017 — a status it had maintained since the 1980s.
The zoo struggled in the 2008 financial crisis, which led to staff cuts and challenges funding modernizations to outdated exhibits, said Fisher. The cuts had left the zoo unable to replace aging facilities quickly enough to keep pace with modern zoological standards, including designs emphasizing space and natural environments.
“We definitely tried to preserve animal care staffing, ” Fisher said, “but … education, maintenance, administration, it definitely took a little bit of a hit.”
In 2018, the city crafted a master plan focused on primate and local species conservation and more opportunities for local community participation that helped pave the way for the zoo’s revitalization. That includes a robust program conserving mountain yellow-legged frogs, native to the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains.
According to Fisher, since 2021, approximately $24 million has gone toward completed upgrades and ongoing projects, including roughly $8 million from state and private funding. Another $1.6 million was raised by the Friends of Santa Ana Zoo Foundation, with the rest of the balance from city funding allocated from the yearly zoo budget, youth benefit and other development funds.
“We have the most staff we’ve ever had and the largest budget we’ve ever had. We’ve completely done a 180 from where we were,” said Fisher.
The AZA accreditation will also unlock new opportunities for the zoo, making it eligible for special grants and allows for participation in international conservation programs and initiatives, city officials said. Upcoming modernizations include upgrades to primate exhibits and habitats, and a new education facility dedicated to the zoo’s educational programs, with construction set to begin in the next few weeks.