San Francisco supervisors approve $8.5M zoo rescue loan amid management scrutiny

by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News May 20, 2026May 20, 2026

FILE: A zookeeper holds a Magellanic penguin before its annual physical exam at the San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. The city's Board of Supervisors has approved an $8.5 million loan for the struggling zoo, which is projecting a $12 million deficit in the next two years. (Alise Maripuu/Bay City News)

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved a resolution to allow the city to loan the San Francisco Zoo up to $8.5 million to keep it afloat amid its current fiscal crisis.

The resolution, which was approved unanimously Tuesday without discussion, grants the city’s Recreation and Park Department the ability to enter into a loan agreement with the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit that operates the struggling zoo.

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Alise Maripuu, Bay City News

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.

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