The Santa Barbara Zoo is located on 30 acres (12 ha) near the ocean in Santa Barbara, California. It was built on the site of what was known as the Child Estate. It has more than 500 animals in numerous exhibits, including capybara and California condors, and was known for having had a giraffe with a crooked neck. It has a few non-animal attractions, such as the 2 ft narrow gauge Zoo Train, complete with a pair of Chance Rides C. P. Huntington locomotives. The zoo first opened in August 1963.

The California condor is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah, the coastal mountains of California, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps, although four extinct members of the genus are also known. The species is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as Critically Endangered, and similarly considered Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.