New reptile exhibits are live at the Santa Ana Zoo, which recently acquired a Chinese alligator and a leaf-tailed gecko named Mort, with more to come.
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The Chinese alligator is one of two alligator species in the world. Unlike its American counterpart, the Chinese alligator is considered critically endangered, with fewer than 150 reportedly left in China’s Yangtze River, its native habitat, according to zoo officials.
The single 6-year-old female weighs only 6 to 7 pounds and is still expected to grow. She arrived at the Santa Ana Zoo in April after the Bronx Zoo in New York had a clutch of four hatchlings and “didn’t have the space to keep them all,” according to the zoo’s veterinarian, Dr. Kate Moore. The transfer was cooperatively managed by the Species Survival Plan program through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
A former goose pond renovated with an upgraded filtration system is now her new home, which she shares with several fish. With a diet of pellets and rats, the alligator usually does not bother the fish she lives with because reptiles “want to do minimal work as possible” and are already fed, Moore said. While she is a bit camera-shy for now, zoo officials said visitors will probably get a better look as she grows.
For the moment, you might catch her lounging beneath submerged logs. That low-energy lifestyle is possible because crocodilians are the only reptiles with a four-chambered heart, Moore explained, letting them “hold their breath a lot longer” by shunting oxygenated blood forward and backward.
A Chinese Alligator, an endangered species, and the Santa Ana Zoo’s latest attraction, sits at the bottom of her pond at the zoo in Santa Ana on Friday, August 7, 2026. Chinese Alligators are capable of slowing their heart rates to just a few beats per minute and can hold their breath for several hours. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Other additions include Mort, a Henkel’s leaf-tailed gecko, a threatened lizard species that arrived in June through the same species survival program and can be found inside the Exploration Outpost, next to the bright yellow poison dart frog. More exhibits, including a green tree python and Madagascar giant day gecko, are expected to open soon.
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But reptiles aren’t the only new upgrades. A walk-through butterfly exhibit with dozens of species from Africa, Asia, Central and South America is open through October. The zoo has also expanded its eagle habitat and is working to bring in bald or golden eagles.
The zoo, which regained full accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the independent, nonprofit organization that sets standards for facilities across the country and globally, last year also recently opened River’s Edge exhibit, a multi-species habitat that is now home to South American river otters and several monkey species.
Several infrastructure and conservation projects are also underway, including a 3,000-square-foot education center, which is expected to open by March.
Recent citywide budget cuts have pushed the zoo to get creative with new revenue, including considering animal encounters, though staff said the idea is still in very early planning. An annual black-tie gala is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, with dinner, dancing and an auction supporting further improvements at the zoo.
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