DISCOVER OUR ECOSYSTEMS.

Tito

What animals live out at the zoo?

Informal Zoo: Weather

In California, the weather isn't always the same. Sometimes, clouds loom the sky. Giant stratus clouds can form over the ocean, creating a rain storm. The Informal Zoo went out and found out that in order to create a rain-storm - a few important factors are needed. Here is a cycle - with fog that starts it off.

Our Focus

Our focus is on learning more about native wildlife, monitoring the spread of invasive species, and studying undescribed species unknown to science.

Some of our AWESOME habitats!

Find out where exactly our animals call home. All of our habitats are bioactive and designed to reflect each organism's natural habitat.

Scrub Habitat

Our 3 lizard habitats includes live native plants, built to mimic the coastal scrub and chaparral of California

Welcome

I am Ryth, a 16 year old kid who enjoys being in nature and learning about the flora and fauna of California. I have always been intrigued by nature, especially organisms that are fairly rare or undescribed (a species or group not yet known or formally valid in taxonomic literature).

This Is How it Started

My passion for nature emerged when I was still in preschool.

4 years old

I would spend a lot of time flipping over logs and rocks in search of small invertebrates.

7 years old

I started a "Frog Club" in 2nd grade for people who were also curious about these amphibians. No one joined, but I was still happy that I got to share my passion with others

10-14 years old

I began exploring to the tidepools more often during the pandemic. I was particularly in search of decapods such as brachyurans and anomurans. I learned how to identify common species and understood how important each particular zone of the tidepools were. Because of this I started the CCAG which was then called "115pet's Informal Zoo"

14 y/o - present

I began identifying crabs globally and observing organisms with the iNaturalist app. I started to veer off from crustacean ID into reptile and amphibians. Even as herps began to fascinate me, I identified crabs daily and still remained one of the top identifier of them.

Present

The more I discovered the rare and protected species around me, the more I realized how crucial it is to study them - their habitats, and the human factors that impact them the most. With new non-native species being introduced to San Francisco at an alarming rate - around one every 12 to 24 weeks - the need to protect our native wildlife has never been more urgent.

Our films

You may not know this, but I like to edit and produce films! I've been making films since 2023 I have a huge passion for making videos and using filmmaking to educate people about nature.

Equipment:

Nikon COOLPIX P1100

DJI Mini 3 (Drone x2)

DJI Action 4 (Underwater Camera)

Apple iPhone 16 (close ups)

Video →

Road To Hana, Maui. Captured with the drone during 2024 trip.

Watch my films!