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.
12/04/2025
Bobcats like Shakespeare may spend much of the day conserving their energy, but these cats are naturally crepuscular — most active at dusk and dawn.
The twilight hours are essential for bobcats in the wild. Dim light helps them stalk quietly, avoid larger predators, and move through their territory with confidence. But artificial lighting can disrupt these natural patterns, making hunting and movement more challenging for wild bobcats.
Protecting natural light cycles helps ensure that species like Shakespeare's wild counterparts can continue their instinctive behaviors in the low-light conditions they depend on.
Here at the Zoo, Shakespeare reminds us every day how perfectly adapted bobcats are to the softer light of early morning and evening — and how important it is to keep those natural transitions intact.
12/03/2025
🎅 Santa is coming to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo!❄️
Kick off the holiday season with one of our favorite traditions — Santa at the Zoo!
Join us on December 13th and December 20th from 11 AM – 3 PM for:
Photos with Santa.
Live performances by The Carnegie Carolers.
Holiday cheer surrounded by your favorite animals.
Bundle up, bring the family, and enjoy a magical winter day at the zoo.
Let’s make this December unforgettable! ❤️🎄
12/02/2025
Striped skunks like Ozzy, Eddy, Durian, and Trilliium are best known for their unmistakable defense strategy, but there’s so much more to these clever, curious animals — especially after dark. Skunks are primarily nocturnal, meaning their world truly comes alive at night when they forage, explore, and communicate.
Because they rely on low-light conditions to safely navigate and search for food, excessive artificial lighting can make life harder for wild skunks. Bright lights can expose them to predators, disrupt their feeding routines, and push them out of the habitats they depend on.
By helping to reduce unnecessary nighttime light across the valley, we - as a community - can support the natural behaviors of nocturnal wildlife like our striped skunks — allowing them to move, forage, and thrive naturally.
12/01/2025
Mtn. Lion Mondays!
Scent enrichment for Holly.
Visit daily from 10-4.
11/30/2025
Our gaze of Raccons — Vinny, Tosh, Karen, and Bowie — are nocturnal specialists.Their world comes alive after dark, when their sensitive paws, sharp senses, and natural curiosity help them explore, forage, and communicate.
Raccoons, like many nocturnal animals, rely on natural darkness to navigate and find food. Excessive artificial lighting can disrupt their movements, make it harder for them to forage, and interfere with the natural rhythms wildlife depends on.
Even here at the zoo, we see how much their instincts are geared toward nighttime activity — climbing, searching, investigating everything in sight. Keeping Big Bear’s skies dark helps protect those behaviors in the wild.
So while Vinny, Tosh, Karen, and Bowie bring plenty of personality during the day… the night is truly their element. 🌙
11/29/2025
Our wolf pack — Bodhi, Loki, Nymeria, and Ivar — may seem mellow during the day, but wolves are naturally crepuscular, meaning they’re most active during dawn and dusk. These low-light hours are when their wild counterparts would travel, hunt communicate, and strengthen their social bonds as a pack.
Even though no wild wolves exist in Big Bear, many other local species rely heavily on these dim, naturally lit periods. That’s why protecting Big Bear’s night environment matters.
The Care For Big Bear Dark Sky Initiative helps limit unnecessary artificial lighting, preserving the natural transition between day and night. Excess light can disrupt the crepuscular rhythms that wolves — and so many other species — depend on for survival.
By supporting dark sky practices, we help keep those twilight and nocturnal hours wild, natural, and healthy for wildlife across the valley.
11/28/2025
Meet Hootie, our resident Great Horned Owl — and one of the best ambassadors for why protecting Big Bear’s dark skies is so important.
Great Horned Owls rely on natural darkness to hunt, navigate, and communicate with one another. Their incredible night vision and silent flight are specially adapted for low-light environments. But when artificial light spills into natural areas, it can disrupt those instincts — making it harder for owls like Hootie’s wild counterparts to thrive.
By supporting the Care For Big Bear Dark Sky Initiative, we’re helping protect the nighttime environment that owls depend on.
How you can help Hootie’s wild neighbors:
Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights
Choose warm, downward-facing lighting
Keep lights away from forested or open natural areas.
Protecting dark skies helps protect the wildlife that call Big Bear home.
11/27/2025
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the zoo.
So much to be thankful for.
Hours 10-2 today
11/27/2025
Here at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, we care for many species that come alive after sunset — from owls and skunks to coyotes and ringtails. These animals rely on natural darkness for hunting, foraging, navigating, communicating, and even avoiding predators.
That’s why we’re proud to support the Care For Big Bear Dark Sky Initiative. Reducing light pollution doesn’t just make the stars brighter — it helps keep our wildlife wild.
Artificial light at night can disorient nocturnal animals, interrupt their feeding patterns, and disrupt essential behaviors. By keeping Big Bear’s night skies dark, we’re helping create safer, healthier habitats for wildlife both inside the zoo and throughout the valley.
How you can help protect wildlife on your next visit to Big Bear:
• Use only the outdoor light you need — and turn it off when you don’t
• Choose warm, downward-directed lights that don’t spill into natural areas
• Avoid shining bright lights toward open spaces or forested habitat
• Let the night stay natural — for the animals who depend on it
Together, we can protect Big Bear’s incredible wildlife from dusk to dawn.
11/26/2025
We’re proud to share that the Big Bear Alpine Zoo is applying to join the Care For Big Bear Green Business Program — a new community-wide effort dedicated to sustainable business practices, protecting our natural environment, and preserving the beauty of the mountains for generations to come.
As a local institution rooted in wildlife rehabilitation and conservation, the Zoo’s mission aligns naturally with the “Green Business” values: conserving resources, reducing waste, protecting habitat, and supporting a healthier ecosystem for people and animals.
By becoming a certified green business, the Zoo will join a growing network of Big Bear partners committed to:
-minimizing environmental impact through better energy and water use, and responsible waste management
-encouraging visitors and locals alike to follow the 7 principles of Leave No Trace — like packing out trash, staying on trails, respecting wildlife, and using durable surfaces for recreation.
-supporting a broader vision for “sustainable tourism” in Big Bear — because this valley belongs to all of us and our wildlife.
We’re excited about this step forward — and hopeful that it inspires even more local businesses, organizations, and individuals to join the Green Business movement. Together, we can help ensure Big Bear remains a clean, wild, and welcoming place for people and nature.
For the next 30 days, we'll be highlighting our sustainability efforts and why dark skies matter for local wildlife.
Want to join the effort? Look out for more info on how to volunteer, support local green partners, or adopt eco-friendly practices on your next visit.
11/25/2025
We'll be open on Thanksgiving from 10-2. We're closing a couple hours early so that staff can be with their families. We'll be back to our normal hours of 10-4 on Friday.
📸 Grizzly Bear Ayla providing that Wow Factor
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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.
