California Wildlife. Meet the locals

The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park let us see animals from all over the world, but did you know that we also have animals that live right here in California?

Roll over each animal photo below to learn about some of Southern California's own fascinating wildlife locals!

Red-tailed Hawk

These birds of prey can often be seen flying over the Safari Park!
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Mule Deer

These deer like to sneak into the Park's elephant exhibit and nibble on browse.
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California Sea Lions

These pinnipeds have been entertaining at the Zoo's Wegeforth Bowl since 1935!
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Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs

There are only 150 to 200 of these endangered frogs in the wild.
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Opossum

The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial found in North America.
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Rattlesnake

A rattlesnake's rattle is made out keratin, the same material as our fingernails.
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Anna's Hummingbird

Male Anna's are the only North American hummingbird with a red crown.
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Coyote

The coyote is a species of canine, just like domestic dogs!
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Great Horned Owl

The great horned owl is also known as the tiger owl or cat owl.
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Mountain Lion

Mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther—this cat is known by a lot of names!
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Alligator Lizard

San Diego has its very own subspecies: the San Diego alligator lizard, of course!
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Ground Squirrel

Some California ground squirrels are immune to rattlesnake bites!
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North American Raccoon

Raccoons can untie knots, turn doorknobs, and even open jars!
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California Condor

Condors have no vocal chords and can only make grunting and hissing noises.
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Skunk

A skunk can spray its stinky musk up to 15 feet!
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