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San Diego Zoo

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You are watching archived footage of the elephant herd at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, recorded at an earlier date. The live cam is temporarily unavailable, due to construction that is about to begin on the new Denny Sanford Elephant Valley-the largest project in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's 50-year history-which will completely reimagine the heart of the Safari Park, bringing our community into the epicenter of our global conservation efforts for elephants.

When completed, the reimagined Elephant Valley will provide enhanced opportunities for guests to connect with the herd in new and engaging ways. Through the course of construction, elephant habitat viewing locations will be modified and may at times be limited.

Learn About Elephants Elephant Blog

Just as their counterparts do on the African savanna, the elephants at the Safari Park live in a social group called a herd, made up of females and their offspring. The leader of the herd-known as the matriarch-is usually the oldest and most experienced female in the group. She keeps the younger elephants in line and teaches them how to behave in elephant society.

The Safari Park's elephant habitats spread out over six acres, divided into two main yards, providing all the elephants with opportunities for social interaction and with inviting space. With nine African elephants, there's always something happening!

Meet our elephants:

Mkhaya "Kaia"

Sex: Female
Born: Safari Park, September 26, 2018
September 2018 weight (at birth): 281 pounds
Wildlife care specialists at the Safari Park received a big surprise when they came in to work on the morning of September 27, 2018 and saw that 28-year-old Umngani had given birth to a healthy 281-pound female calf-the biggest calf ever to be born at the Safari Park (calves usually weigh 200 to 268 pounds at birth). By late morning, with the baby appearing healthy and bonded to her mother, animal care staff offered the pair the opportunity to move into a larger area of the habitat with Umngani's other three offspring. The new calf was also introduced to 8-year-old male Emanti and 11-year-old female Phakamile or "Kami". The other elephants rushed to meet the new baby, touching and smelling her with their trunks, all under the watchful eye of her protective mother.

Umzula-zuli "Zuli"

Sex: Male
Born: Safari Park, August 12, 2018
August 2018 weight (one day after birth): 277 pounds
In the final hours of World Elephant Day at the Safari Park, just before midnight on August 12, 2018, mother Ndulamitsi gave birth to Umzula-zuli, a male calf, called "Zuli." The next day, Zuli was greeted by the herd's other elephants, who gathered around him-eager to touch him, trumpet, and smell him with their trunks.

Swazi

Sex: Female
Born: Kruger National Park, South Africa, approx. 1991
Weight: 6,800 pounds
Swazi has been the dominant female in the herd since she arrived. Named in honor of Swaziland, she is the now the largest female in the herd. Any ruckus in the herd and Swazi comes charging over to see what's going on. Swazi gave birth to her first, long-awaited calf-eMacembe, a male-on April 12, 2010, and a female, Qinisa, on August 28, 2012. Wildlife care specialists suspect that Swazi's vision is not as acute as the other elephants; she is often startled by the less-dominant animals, sometimes even the calves.

Umngani

Umngani (OOM-gah-nee), whose name means "friend" in Siswati, is the mother of Mkhaya, a new female calf born in September 2018-as well as Khosi, Ingadze, and Inhlonipho. Umngani is curious and eagerly participates in care sessions, often roaring at wildlife care specialists if her session ends too soon. Umngani has the longest tusks in the herd, and her ears are often flared out as if she is listening. As beautiful as she is, though, she is also one of the messiest elephants in the herd. You can tell which wildlife care specialists have been working with her: they are frequently spackled with wet mud from her drippy trunk!

NdLulamitsi "NDULA"

Sex: Female
Born: Kruger National Park, South Africa, approx. 1990
Weight: 6,400 pounds
Ndlulamitsi has a great relationship with her wildlife care specialists and often approaches them to solicit a rubdown. She can often be seen in the water, and taking mud baths to cool down. "Ndula" became the first mom of the herd when she gave birth to Vus'musi; son Lutsandvo was born in 2010. In August 2018, she gave birth to son Umzula-zuli. You can identify Ndula, whose name means "taller than trees" due to her great height, by her right tusk, which curves underneath her trunk.

Khosi

Khosi (KO-see) is short for a name that means "heart of a queen" in SiSwati, in recognition of Yvonne Larsen, former president of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Board of Trustees. Khosi can frequently be seen watching over her younger siblings.

Phakamile "KAMI"

Phakamile's name means "noble strength," to honor the longtime support of Audrey Steele Burnand, whose first name means the same. "Kami" is a great swimmer, is very energetic, and is good at balancing on logs or rocks. Kami's right tusk is very short; a tusk injury required a pulpotomy.

Qinisa

Qinisa is mother Swazi's second calf. Qinisa's name is a SiSwati word that means to act with energy, act determinedly, fulfill one's word, or speak the truth. The name is pronounced "EEN-EE-seh," with a tongue pop instead of a q sound). Her name is very fitting, as she is definitely full of energy.

VUS'MUSI "MUSI"

Vus'Musi was the first elephant born to the Safari Park herd, to mother Ndula-and "Vus'Musi" means "to build a family" in Siswati. "Musi" rejoined the herd in 2022, on a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) African Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP). This collaborative program recommends breeding pairings for genetic diversity, as SDZWA works with partners to secure the future of this endangered species. Musi was already familiar with all of the Safari Park elephants except Umzula-zuli ("Zuli") and Mkhaya. As an adult male elephant, Musi will play a valued role as a mentor to Zuli.

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You are watching archived footage of the elephant herd at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, recorded at an earlier date. The live cam is temporarily unavailable, due to construction that is about to begin on the new Denny Sanford Elephant Valley-the largest project in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's 50-year history-which will completely reimagine the heart of the Safari Park, bringing our community into the epicenter of our global conservation efforts for elephants.

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Explore the World

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360 imagery helps you know where to go and what to expect when traveling. Explore world-famous landmarks, galleries, and museums right from your device, or turn the clock back with Street View historical imagery to see how a location has changed over time.

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Explore Street View and add your own 360 images to Google Maps.

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Learn how to navigate and use Street View. Explore the world without leaving your couch and create and add your own images into Google Maps.

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San Diego Zoo

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Watch Live Video of Orangutans and Siamangs on Ape Cam

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Watch live streaming video of the San Diego Zoo's active, arboreal orangutans-the largest fruit-eating animals on Earth-and their exhibit mates, the siamangs. | San Diego Zoo

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San Diego Zoo

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Check out the live streaming video from the San Diego Zoo's Australian Outback, home of the largest koala colony outside Australia!| San Diego Zoo

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About This View

You're watching our polar bears in their tundra habitat at the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge! The black spot you might see on some of the bears is part of a study to learn how fast their hair grows. Researchers working with bears in the wild use hair samples to learn about diet, stress and pollutant levels, and more. Knowing how fast the hair grows will help them learn even more.

From 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time, you're watching the live cam while it's daytime in San Diego. While it's dark, from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. we rebroadcast that morning's stream.

Learn more about polar bears
Read Polar Bear Blog

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You're watching our polar bears in their tundra habitat at the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge! The black spot you might see on some of the bears is part of a study to learn how fast their hair grows. Researchers working with bears in the wild use hair samples to learn about diet, stress and pollutant levels, and more.

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From this global perspective you may explore vEcotours from four continents (and counting!). Every vEcotour features an immersive full-sphere panorama and a voiced introduction. In addition, some of the tours also feature close-up photos, embedded videos and audio, and interviews to enrich the experience. Click on a location pin, or a cluster of pins, to get started.

If you'd like to support some or all of the projects featured in these vEcotours, please consult the following directory:

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From this global perspective you may explore vEcotours from four continents (and counting!). Every vEcotour features an immersive full-sphere panorama and a voiced introduction. In addition, some of the tours also feature close-up photos, embedded videos and audio, and interviews to enrich the experience.