SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Lions, tigers, bears and... the first-ever YouTube video? Oh my!
The San Diego Zoo has earned international acclaim over the years for its diverse array of animals on display in impressive exhibits, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to the conservation of endangered species and conducting research.
The zoo is also worthy of the internet's hall of fame: The first video ever uploaded to YouTube, titled "Me at the zoo," shows one of the site's co-founders standing in front of the elephants at the San Diego Zoo. The video was posted 20 years ago: April 23, 2005.
"All right, so here we are in front of the elephants. The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long trunks, and that's cool," said YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, who uploaded the video. "And that's pretty much all there is to say."
Over the years, "Me at the zoo" has amassed more than 355 million views and 17 million likes.
The zoo has been aware of this fun fact for some time now; five years ago, the San Diego Zoo's YouTube channel commented on the video.
"We're so honored that the first ever YouTube video was filmed here!" the zoo admin wrote.
That comment now has 4.1 million likes, which presumably makes it the most-liked comment on YouTube of all time.
As of April 23, 2025, the 19-second video featuring the elephants was the only upload on Karim's channel. Despite this, he has 5.34 million subscribers.
