San Diego County health officials are urging visitors to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to come forward if they had any physical contact with a wild bat that tested positive for rabies. The deceased animal was discovered on July 11 outside the Oasis on the Rocks restaurant.
While visitors who did not have physical contact with the bat are not considered at risk, county health officials are investigating to ensure anyone who may have had direct contact receives prompt evaluation. Rabies is described as a highly fatal viral disease if not treated early, with nearly a 100% fatality rate once symptoms appear.
The bat was not part of the zoo's animal collection, and no human contact has been reported to date. The County Public Health Laboratory confirmed the bat's positive rabies status. This marks the 19th bat to test positive for rabies in San Diego County this year, compared to 21 bats in all of 2025.
Wildlife experts emphasize that people should never handle bats, even though they play a vital role in the environment by consuming large numbers of insects. Dr. Alexis Wohl, wildlife veterinary manager at the San Diego Humane Society, noted that while bats are rare carriers of rabies, caution is advised. Dr. Brian Collins, a veterinarian at Cornell Riney Canine Health Center, identified bats as primary carriers of rabies in the U.S., accounting for most human rabies cases.
If a bat is encountered in a public area, individuals should not touch it. Instead, they should keep people and pets away and notify animal control or local authorities. If direct contact is suspected, the affected area should be washed thoroughly with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes.