Oakland Zoo Promotes Coexistence with Wildlife Through ‘Get to Know Your Bay Area Neighbors’ Awareness Campaign

OAKLAND ZOO CONTACT INFORMATION:

Isabella Linares

Marketing Manager

ilinares@oaklandzoo.org

Oakland Zoo has announced the beginning of its awareness campaign in conjunction with the launch of the Zoo’s Conservation Strategic Plan, highlighting one of the key focus areas for 2025-2027: human-wildlife coexistence. The “Get to Know Your Bay Area Neighbors” campaign emphasizes the Bay Area's rich biodiversity and the personal connections humans can have with wildlife through empathy and understanding.  

With five species highlighted alongside iconic Bay Area archetypes, the community can explore connections and “Get to Know” the wildlife that call the Bay Area home on a deeper level, while learning how to take action to protect them and their habitats. The Zoo hopes that by strengthening these connections, we as a community can work together to ensure both people and wildlife thrive.  

“When you hear the word wildlife, it's easy to envision exotic animals like giraffes in Africa or tigers in Asia. However, cities such as Oakland, San Francisco, and the Greater Bay Area are home to many amazing and beautiful animals. We have a lot to learn from these creatures that live in our neighborhoods and cities. Coexisting can begin with understanding and discovering the small changes we can make in our daily lives to help preserve them,” says Nik Dehejia, CEO of Oakland Zoo.

Often perceived as a threat or nuisance, these five iconic species highlight the crucial roles these animals play in the environment. For instance, coyotes, mountain lions, and black bears are all keystone species essential for managing the populations of other species, such as controlling the numbers of rats and mice to healthier levels. Given their environmental roles, the Zoo selected five Bay Area archetypes that correspond to these animals:

The Five Species of Focus:  

Coyote “The Creative”

Coyotes are intelligent and adaptable. They use their keen instincts to find food, communicate, and navigate human-dominated landscapes. Their resourcefulness allows them to thrive even as wild spaces transform into cities. Like coyotes, Bay Area creatives highlight the significance of communities and leverage unique skills, break the mold, and take risks to ensure their groups thrive.

Raccoons “The Engineer”

Raccoons use their dexterous hands to explore, solve problems, and adapt to changing environments. Their ingenuity helps them coexist with people in shared spaces. The Bay Area engineer is no stranger to exploration and the need to remain curious and inventive, a natural trait they share with raccoons.

Black-Crowned Night Heron “The Influencer”

Black-crowned night herons are strongly connected to their habitats, returning to the same nesting sites year after year. Even in bustling cities, these ambassadors shape how people experience and understand urban wildlife. As the official bird of Oakland, and like many influencers in our area, they take pride in the Bay and the Town.

Black Bear “The Foodie”

Black bears embrace a variety of culinary experiences and are drawn to new smells and flavors. Their curiosity makes them skilled foragers, and by securing our food, we can help ensure a safe and respectful coexistence. The Bay Area is a melting pot of cultures that plays a significant role in the food scene, offering a range of delicious dishes that change seasonally and attract food connoisseurs.

Mountain Lion “The Free Spirit”

Mountain lions are masters of adaptation, moving seamlessly between deserts, forests, and foothills. Independent and adventurous, they thrive in diverse landscapes, often unnoticed by the humans who share their space. From the coast to the redwoods, and from the city to the suburbs, Bay Area free spirits possess a strong sense of individuality and carve their own paths in life while demonstrating resilience.

Like the Golden State it belongs to, the Bay Area is rich in species diversity. However, these species face numerous threats affecting their populations, such as climate change, human expansion, habitat fragmentation, and human-wildlife conflict. The nine counties of the Bay Area host over 90 species of animals and plants that are classified as threatened or endangered under federal law. The Zoo emphasizes that now, more than ever, is the time to take action to ensure a healthy ecosystem and future for all wildlife on our planet.

When creating its Conservation Strategic Plan, the Zoo chose Coexistence as one of its pillars of focus because of the significant impact humans have had on the wildlife around us. These impacts often push animals into smaller, fragmented habitats, challenging their survival. Coexistence is also an approachable practice that many can adopt by sharing our landscape, reducing conflicts with wildlife, and promoting mutually beneficial solutions in urban spaces.

The Zoo is nestled in the heart of Knowland Park. It is home to various wildlife species, including raccoons, bobcats, deer, turkeys, ravens, and red-tailed hawks. The Zoo has adopted coexistence practices to help keep the wildlife safe, such as secured trash cans that prevent animals from accessing guest trash. They organize monthly staff clean-ups at the Zoo's entrance and along Golf Links Road. The Zoo also educates community members daily through interpretive programs such as Keeper Chats, ZooCamp, ZooSchool, and Zoomobiles.

Oakland Zoo has a long history of supporting human-wildlife coexistence efforts for numerous species. It has supported coexistence projects by partnering with affected communities, providing them with a platform, and employing interdisciplinary strategies to achieve sustainable solutions. Some examples of these initiatives are:

Black-crowned Night Herons

Oakland Zoo leads an alliance of partnerships to collaborate with downtown Oakland communities, where our city bird, the black-crowned night heron roosts, to move toward coexistence. During nesting season, Oakland Zoo Heron Response Team patrols the rookeries near Lake Merritt, engages with neighbors, and provides aid to injured birds, working with the International Bird Rescue and others to rehabilitate and release them.

Urban Wildlife Study

Oakland Zoo actively participates in the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN) by tracking and monitoring wildlife across the city of Oakland to help understand how urbanization affects species biodiversity. Sharing data on animal presence and movement with conservation organizations provides valuable information for maintaining biodiversity.

California Gray Wolf

Oakland Zoo partners with Working Circle, which co-creates solutions with communities to address wolf-livestock conflicts. This non-profit organization unites the values and perspectives of rural and urban communities around sustainable ranching and large predator conservation. The Zoo supports its Range Stewards, who work directly with ranchers to reduce cattle vulnerabilities and prevent predation.

2025 marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. From April through December 2025, the Zoo will engage the public in discussions about behaviors that can minimize conflicts with the wildlife we share our cities with.

“Serendipitously, our coexistence campaign launches on this 55th anniversary of Earth Day, a celebration of our beautiful planet, and a call to action to protect our home. Coexisting with wildlife also requires us to take action in our own lives to share our space with them. It embodies a vision of empowerment, both as individuals and as a community, which is certainly something to celebrate,” says Amy Gotliffe, VP of Conservation at Oakland Zoo.

To kick off the campaign, the Zoo will host an Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 19, where guests can enjoy booths featuring Zoo conservation partners and local environmental organizations, musical performances, activities, crafts, and more. Additionally, there will be an action day on Tuesday, April 22, for the Zoo’s Earth Day Volunteer Event, where guests are encouraged to join the Zoo in removing invasive plants, picking up litter, spreading mulch, and planting native species around the Arroyo Viejo Creek.  

For more information about the Zoo’s ‘Get to Know Your Bay Area Neighbors’ campaign, to take the quiz to discover which animal you connect with most, and to learn more about how to coexist with wildlife, visit: oaklandzoo.org/coexist.

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ABOUT OAKLAND ZOO AND THE CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA:

Oakland Zoo envisions a flourishing planet where people and wildlife thrive together. The Zoo’s mission is to deepen connections with animals, save wildlife, and inspire champions for the natural world. Oakland Zoo is an accredited Association of Zoos & Aquariums member, managed by the Conservation Society of California, a non-profit organization.

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