Visitors possibly exposed to rabid bat at world-famous CA zoo, officials warn

A bat found flying around a world-famous California zoo has tested positive for rabies, and now officials are searching for visitors who may have been exposed.

The bat was wild and not part of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, officials said. However, it was found in the African Loop, at a public elevator near the park’s hot air balloon ride — the park’s only public elevator — and officials confirmed it was rabid.

“County public health officials are looking for people who may have come in contact with a bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 10:45 a.m.,” San Diego County announced in a May 9 news release.

“Park visitors who had no physical contact with the bat are not at risk for rabies,” officials said.

The Safari Park is part of the San Diego Zoo. The zoo brings in an average of 4 million visitors per year from all over the world, according to a 2023 report.

A zoo staff member caught the bat and it was tested at a county laboratory, officials said.

Bites are a common way an animal can infect a person with rabies, but not the only.

“Human rabies is usually fatal without prompt post-exposure vaccine and treatment,” Dr. Ankita Kadakia, county interim public health officer, said. “Rabies transmission can happen from a bat bite or if a bat’s saliva comes in contact with a cut or abrasion, or with mucous membranes, such as the eyes, nose or mouth.”

Anyone who believes they or someone they know may have been in contact with the rabid bat is asked to call San Diego County Public Health Services at (619) 692-8499, officials said.

While contact with animals is how people typically become infected with rabies, there are no documented cases of one person giving it to another, except in cases of organ or tissue transplants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This story was originally published May 11, 2025 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Visitors possibly exposed to rabid bat at world-famous CA zoo, officials warn."