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Monday 10am - 4pm Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

Big Bear Alpine Zoo

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United States
Big Bear Lake, CA
Big Bear Alpine Zoo

The Big Bear Alpine Zoo is San Bernardino County’s only zoo and also serves as a wildlife animal sanctuary, rehabilitation and education center.
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BBAZ opened in 1959 and has been saving animals since then. Most of the animals in our zoo are the ones that have been injured or impacted by humans and cannot be released back into the wild. Guests will enjoy our state of the art 5 acre facility which offers a close-up and personal experience with our animals. The brand new facility opened on November 5th, 2020.

07/02/2025

Mid-day Moments with raccoons Bowie and Karen. Visit daily from 10-5 all Summer long.

07/01/2025

Red Fox Piper ensuring maintenance does a thorough job 🤣. Visit daily from 10-5

06/30/2025

Wolf Loki with a full stretch this morning. Visit the wolf pack daily from 10-5.

06/29/2025

Pooh Bear is a large black bear. He typically weighs around 500 lbs. and stands over 7.5 feet tall. His keepers provide opportunities for him to stretch, climb, and stand everyday. This routine will benefit him in the long run as mobility can be challenging in older bears - especially the males. At nearly 20, Pooh stands up Pretty well - as is shown in this clip. Visit him daily from 10-5.

06/27/2025

Did you know that Flying Squirrels like Juniper, Truffles, and Lichen are omnivores and have quite the varied diet which includes roots, fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, and specialized pellets.

06/26/2025

Pooh Bear was also offered a new enrichment... we're calling this the Treat Shower 😅

06/25/2025

The wolves were offered a new problem solving enrichment activity - each wolf took a turn, Only Ivar was able to figure it out. Visit the wolf pack daily from 10-5.

06/24/2025

Female Grizzly Bear Ayla was in need of a dentist. She had broken part of one her canines and needed some dentistry. The anesthesia, radiography, exam, and various procedures were performed expertly, and all went according to plan. She recovered quite well and was up on her feet fairly fast for a 30-year old Bear.

06/15/2025

🎥 Curator Cam strikes again! 🐻

Our curator was in the right place at the right time to catch Ayla the grizzly in full summer chill mode—lounging in her pool and casually selecting the perfect stick to chew on like a toothpick. Yes, you read that right. A toothpick. Ayla’s got style.

From Pooh Bear’s splash party to Ayla’s post-swim snack, the Curator Cam is on a roll—and we’re loving every second of it. Proof that when you spend your days surrounded by animals, you never stop being delighted by their wild little quirks.

06/13/2025

📹 Caught on Curator Cam! 🐻💦

Even with the top job at the zoo, our curator still stops to marvel at our animals—just like the rest of us! She captured this awesome moment of Pooh Bear living his best life in the pool, and we couldn’t keep it to ourselves.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about managing a zoo—it’s about moments like this. Watching our animals splash, play, and truly thrive is what it’s all about.

06/12/2025

🖤 In Loving Memory of Caw Caw 🖤
Last month, we said goodbye to one of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo’s most unforgettable characters—Caw Caw, our tiny crow with a huge personality, who spent nearly two decades with us.

Early in his life, malnourishment led to some physical challenges with his feet and toes, But that didn't seem to slow him down...Full of moxy, Caw Caw was always a staff favorite. He even knew a few choice words 😁 Whether he was sass-talking keepers or stealing the spotlight (and food) from birds twice his size (or bigger), he always made an impact.

He had been treated for mobility issues for several years; when those became too much for the medicine to combat, the difficult decision was made.

The Crow exhibit is certainly a lot quieter now. But we take comfort knowing that he lived an enriched life at our zoo.

Fly high Caw Caw

06/11/2025

You are George... you're the fairest of them all 😉
Visit daily from 10-5.
Enrichment is always happening.

Address

42801 Moonridge Road
Big Bear Lake, CA
92315

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+19095841299

Website

http://www.bigbearzoo.org/

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Our Story

The Big Bear Alpine Zoo was started in 1959 as an Alpine wildlife center to rehabilitate and release injured wildlife. Most of the non-releasable animals here at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo are here because of human interference. As residents of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, these animals take on the important role of ambassadors, helping us to connect our guests to wildlife. Our commitment to our ambassadors begins with our pledge to provide the best quality of life possible, enabling all of our animals with opportunities to thrive.

Currently located on 2.5 acres, guests will enjoy an up-close and personal experience with our animals. Additionally, we offer enrichment talks every day at 12, 1, 2, and 3 PM.

Big Bear Alpine Zoo rehabilitates injured, sick, or orphaned native wildlife and releases healthy animals back into their natural habitat. Our goal is to provide the best welfare possible with minimal human interaction. When we accept wildlife from the public, we will use those opportunities to promote conservation education and stewardship of wildlife, habitat, and our mountain ecosystem.

Each year the Big Bear Alpine Zoo receives well over a hundred animals that have been impacted in such a way that they cannot survive in the wild without intervention. Our primary goal is threefold: assess, treat, and release. Best practices in animal welfare and support from veterinary experts enable us to release 90% of wildlife that comes to us.

If an animal cannot be released into the wild, Big Bear Alpine Zoo provides a permanent residence, where they become ambassadors for our local wildlife. As rescued wildlife, our ambassadors help us to connect our guests to wildlife and promote the importance of conservation and stewardship.

The work that we do in wildlife rehabilitation and rescue is made possible through our valuable partnerships and community support.

New Zoo: Spring/Summer 2020!

Plans are underway to build a new facility with completion set at late Spring or early Summer of 2020. Construction the new facility began in August of 2017. The outside structures will be modern and designed for enriching the lives of our animals and for optimal guest experience. Although we have changed the design of the zoo, our heart will remain the same...still saving wildlife since 1959!

Designed for Maximum Animal Welfare

With choice and control over their environment, our animal ambassadors will benefit from naturalistic environments, allowing for better enrichment opportunities and the opportunities to express species-specific behaviors. Modern holding areas will provide greater opportunities for behavior husbandry training.

Designed for Maximum Guest Experience

Not only will our guests enjoy seeing our ambassadors in a new and larger facility, zoo guests will also share in the benefit of seeing animals in specially designed, enrichment-based exhibits.