Inside Look Tour San Diego Zoo: Our Behind-the-Scenes Adventure

Katherine: We signed up for the Inside Look Tour thinking it would be a fun little golf cart ride.

Kelsi: We left deeply invested in the romantic lives of giraffes, the social hierarchy of elephants, and the sass level of a jaguar named Nindiri.

If you’re considering the Inside Look Tour at the San Diego Zoo—this is your sign to do it.

This isn’t your typical stroll-through-the-zoo kind of day. It’s a small group, VIP-ish experience where a personal guide carts you around to select exhibits, drops all the best animal gossip, and answers every “wait, do hippos really do that?” question you’ve got.

Here’s what actually happens on this wildly entertaining, surprisingly educational tour—plus why it’s worth braving some unexpected San Diego weather to do it.

Step One: Check-In, Chill, and Meet the Cart

We arrived for our morning tour on what should’ve been a sunny San Diego day. Instead? Cold. Cloudy. We looked like we were dressed for a moody trip to Portland.

At check-in, we got name tags and met our guide, the lovely Ealena, who immediately had main-character energy. She loaded us into a golf cart, and we were off, ready for our behind-the-scenes adventure.

Step Two: The Hippo Scene (aka Nature’s Plot Twist)

Just four minutes into our tour—we kid you not—the sky opens up. Full downpour.

Katherine: We’re taking photos of hippos one second, and the next we’re drenched like soggy kittens.

Kelsi: Meanwhile, Ealena’s like, ‘Wow, I’ve worked here for a year and never done a tour in the rain!’

Katherine: Of course.

Despite the weather, the hippos were a vibe. They can stay underwater for five minutes, breathe while sleeping (unlike their dolphin cousins), and while they look like giant pool toys, they’re actually super territorial and wildly powerful.

Cute but formidable. A Mood.

Step Three: Animal Facts You Can Absolutely Drop at Brunch

This tour is PACKED with insider info that’s not on the signs—and trust us, it’s fascinating. Here are just a few things that left us wide-eyed:

🦁 Ernest the Lion

• Tongue out 80% of the time. Icon behavior.
• Born at the Safari Park and recently accepted into SSF (aka Match.com for Wildlife—yes, that’s real).
• Not neutered, but we learned that if male lions are neutered, their manes begin to fall out.
• Ernest lives with his sister Miss Ellen and sleeps up to 22 hours a day. Honestly, same.
• In the wild, due to limited male availability and genetic diversity, females have been developing increased testosterone and growing manes of their own.

Kelsi: It’s girl power.

Katherine: But also, slightly dystopian?

🐆 Nindiri the Mexican Jaguar

• Only 80 lbs but STRONGER than most 150-lb jaguars.
• Known for her “skull-crushing” bite force.
• She and Ernest trade habitats for scent enrichment. He’s never met her—but is still terrified of her.

Kelsi: “Honestly? Same.”

🐘 Musi and Shaba, the Elephants

• Musi is the chillest 10,000-lb bachelor around, teaching two younger males how to elephant.
• Shaba is 45 years old and the last of the zoo’s geriatric herd. She’s too old to have babies and not here for the drama.

Fun Fact: Elephants go through 6 sets of teeth in their lifetime, and their trunks have 10,000 muscles. Basically, nature’s Swiss Army knife.

Step Four: Condors, Cheetahs, and Koalas, Oh My

🦅 California Condor

Once down to just 22 birds worldwide, now over 600 exist thanks to conservation efforts. They can eat bone and anthrax, but lead bullets? Too much. Ravens act as their personal GPS to find food.

Katherine: We love a toxic-but-helpful bestie.

🐆 Jabula the South African Cheetah

• Turns nine this year—ancient in wild cheetah years!
• Can hit 70 mph, but only for 30 seconds before overheating. Think sports car, not road tripper.

🐨 Koalas

• San Diego Zoo has the largest koala colony outside of Australia.
• They only eat 90 of the 900 eucalyptus species. V picky.
• They sleep 22 hours a day and can’t identify any food that isn’t eucalyptus.

Kelsi: If you gave them a salad, they’d just stare at it in confusion.

Katherine: Honestly, relatable.

Step Five: Giraffes, Zebras, and One Iconic Donkey

🦒 Tower of Giraffes

We got to stop here and feed the giraffes during our tour—one of the absolute highlights of the day. There’s something magical about standing eye-level with a 16-foot animal who is simultaneously majestic, hungry, and a little picky.

• Chifou, the male, happily accepted our acacia leaves—but only the leaves. He dramatically spit out the stems like a toddler discovering celery in their smoothie.
• Harriette, however, was not impressed. She turned her head away until someone brought out the biscuits. That’s right—this queen only wants snacks that snap.

Katherine: I get it, honestly. Why chew leaves when you could be handed cookies?

Kelsi: She’s living her truth.

Beyond the feeding moment, giraffes are wildly fascinating:

• A group of giraffes is called a tower—because obviously.
• They only sleep about 30 minutes per day, sometimes standing up, sometimes sitting (but never for long).
• They don’t lie down—even during birth. That’s right: baby giraffes quite literally drop six feet to the ground when they’re born. Welcome to the world, hope you like concussions.
• They chew their cud, which means food travels up and down their esophagus like it’s on an elevator. By the time digestion is done, that food has traveled the equivalent of 20 stories.
• Giraffes have blue tongues, long enough to clean their ears (which, for the record, we did not see firsthand… and are okay with that).
• Also—silent extinction is real. Giraffe populations have dropped 70% in the last 30 years, and the zoo’s conservation work is crucial to keeping these gentle giants around.

🦓 Zari the Zebra & Sophia Loren the Donkey

Yes, that Sophia Loren. They’re best friends and animal ambassadors, regularly visiting schools, camps, and TV studios. Iconic duo.

Step Six: Famous Bears

🐻 Ransiku the Andean Bear

TikTok famous for breaking branches and falling like a toddler. 10/10 content.

🐻 Rescued Grizzlies

From Yellowstone, where their mom taught them to dig through trash. Now living their best, trash-free lives in San Diego.

Final Thoughts: Why You Should 100% Book the Inside Look Tour

This is the kind of experience that makes the zoo come alive—especially for anyone who’s ever wanted to know what it really takes to care for and protect these animals.

You’ll:

• Skip the walking fatigue and zip around in a golf cart.
• Get personalized stories from your guide (shoutout again to Ealena, queen of animal facts and vibes).
• Actually understand the conservation efforts happening behind the scenes.
  Learn enough fun facts to become that person at dinner parties.

Kelsi: I thought this would be cool. I didn’t expect to walk away emotionally invested in lion family dynamics.

Katherine: If there’s ever a zoo-themed reality show, I’m voting for Nindiri.

Pro Tips for Booking:

• Dress for weather—yes, even in San Diego. (Your cute outfit is no match for surprise hippo rain.)
• Bring a water bottle and snacks—tour is 90 minutes and there’s no mid-cart snack cart, sadly.
• Ask questions—the guides are fountains of behind-the-scenes gold.
• Book in advance—tours are small and sell out quickly.

Bonus: Lunch at Albert’s (Because You’ll Be Hungry)

After our tour, we headed to Albert’s, the zoo’s full-service restaurant tucked away in a lush corner of the park—and it felt like stumbling into a hidden oasis.

There’s a waterfall view, indoor seating, and most importantly: climate control. If you’re visiting on a hot San Diego day (read: most of them), Albert’s is air-conditioned heaven. And on chillier days like ours? It’s warm, inviting, and the kind of place where your shoes can finally dry out while you reprocess your emotional attachment to Ernest the Lion.

The vibe is relaxed but elevated—natural wood tones, stone walls, big windows looking out over tropical greenery, and just enough safari-chic to remind you that you are, in fact, still at the zoo.

Highly recommend the cappuccino if it’s cold, and the double-stacked chicken sandwich for anyone who just emotionally bonded with a jaguar and needs protein. They also have wine. We’re just saying.

Katherine: It’s giving rainforest brunch with A/C.

Kelsi: And the emotional reset we didn’t know we needed.

Panda-monium: A Serendipitous Encounter with San Diego’s Black-and-White Celebrities

After our delightful lunch at Albert’s, we meandered over to the panda exhibit, bracing ourselves for the usual fanfare that accompanies these monochromatic superstars. Typically, securing a glimpse of the giant pandas requires a timed ticket, a testament to their rockstar status at the San Diego Zoo. However, on this uncharacteristically chilly and drizzly day, the zoo was a tranquil oasis, allowing us to saunter straight into Panda Ridge without the customary wait.

Katherine: “The universe said: no sun, but also no line.”

Kelsi: “Honestly? I’ll take it.”

The recent return of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo has been met with much excitement. After a five-year hiatus, two new pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, arrived in 2024 as part of a renewed conservation partnership with China.

As we observed Yun Chuan and Xin Bao munching on bamboo and lounging in their thoughtfully designed habitat, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude for the unexpected opportunity to witness these magnificent animals up close, sans the usual crowds. Sometimes, it seems, a little rain can lead to the most memorable experiences.

Panda fan? Learn more about San Diego Zoo’s black-and-white icons in this guide.

Ready to Go Behind The Scenes at One of The Best Zoos in The World?

Pack sunscreen, stay hydrated, and prepare to fall head over heels for Ernest the Lion.

If you’re looking for a zoo experience that’s one part safari, one part animal reality show, and one part emotional awakening, this is it. Book the Inside Look Tour—and maybe bring a biscuit for Harriette.