The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is a zoo and botanical garden located in Oklahoma City's Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The zoo covers and is home to more than 2,000 animals of more than 500 species. It is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Oklahoma City Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Alliance of Museums. The zoo receives more than 1 million visitors a year.

Exhibits Expedition Africa (12 acres or 4.8 hectares): the newest addition to the zoo, Expedition Africa is the largest-ever habitat expansion since opening. The area officially opened in 2024 and includes a state-of-the-art giraffe barn, a savanna area where multiple species mingle, and the renovated Love's Pachyderm Building, which includes animal habitats and a large event space. Sanctuary Asia (): an Asian-themed section; which, right now, is home to the zoo's herd of Asian elephants. The elephant habitat is located in the southeast area of the zoo by Great EscApe, the state-of-the-art exhibit includes three spacious outdoor yards, pools, a waterfall, shade structures and barn with amenities including views into the barn from a raised boardwalk. The Children's Zoo: a place where children can explore and play, while connecting with nature and animals. Featuring Galápagos tortoises, flamingos, goats, monkeys, a play stream, and lorikeets. Great EscAPE (): includes two troops of gorillas and a community of chimpanzees, in tropical rainforest plantings. Cat Forest/Lion Overlook (): contains species of big and small cats including African lions, and tigers, with more than 4,000 plants replicating native environments. Oklahoma Trails: The total area of this exhibit is featuring animals native to Oklahoma, including black bears, alligators, bison, and over two dozen snakes. The exhibit includes a walk-in bird exhibit and a barn, which houses bats, skunks, and owls. Herpetarium: the herpetarium includes over 80 exhibits.

Other attractions within the zoo include the giraffe feeding platform, the Elephant Express tram, the Endangered Species Carousel, Stingray Bay, Wild Encounters, elephant presentations, Monarch Flyway Zipline, and the Jungle Gym Playground.

Surrounding the zoo are the Zoo Amphitheater, Lincoln Park, Northeast Lake and the Lincoln Park Golf Course. The zoo is located Oklahoma City's Adventure District at the crossroads of I-35 and I-44. Other attractions in the Adventure District are the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly called the Omniplex), the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame, and Remington Park Racing/Casino.

List of animals

Reptiles/amphibians Abaco Island boa Alligator snapping turtle Amazon Basin emerald tree boa Amazon tree boa American alligator Argentine horned frog Barred tiger salamander Bicolor poison dart frog Black-tailed rattlesnake Black rat snake Black tree monitor Boa constrictor Common snake-necked turtle Crocodile monitor Diamond python Eastern copperhead Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Eyelash palm pitviper Fijian banded iguana Gila monster Green anaconda Green and black poison dart frog Green tree python King cobra Lake Titicaca frog Madagascar tree boa Massasauga Prairie rattlesnake Red spitting cobra Red-eared slider Reticulated python Rock rattlesnake Shield-nosed cobra Sidewinder Speckled rattlesnake Suriname toad Timber rattlesnake Volcán Alcedo giant tortoise Western cottonmouth Western diamondback rattlesnake Western green mamba Western pygmy rattlesnake White's tree frog Woma python Woodhouse's toad

Mammals

Addra gazelle African lion African wild dog American beaver American bison American black bear Asian elephant Bat-eared fox Black-footed cat Black-handed spider monkey Black-tailed prairie dog Bobcat Caracal Cheetah Chimpanzee Clouded leopard Common raccoon dog Cougar Coyote Crested porcupine Donkey Elk Fishing cat François' langur Goat (petting zoo) Goeldi's monkey Golden-headed lion tamarin Grevy's zebra Grizzly bear Indian rhinoceros Jaguar Meerkat North American river otter Ocelot Okapi Opossum Pig (petting zoo) Red panda Red river hog Red-rumped agouti Reticulated giraffe Ringtail cat Serval Sheep (petting zoo) Southern three-banded armadillo Spotted hyena Squirrel monkey Striped skunk Sumatran orangutan Sumatran tiger Swift fox Western lowland gorilla White-tailed deer Yellow-backed duiker

Birds

African pygmy falcon American crow American flamingo American white ibis Andean condor Argentine ruddy duck Australian magpie Bald eagle Bali mynah Bare-faced ground dove Barn owl Black-bellied whistling duck Black-capped lory Black-naped fruit dove Black-necked stilt Blue-and-yellow macaw Blue-crowned motmot Bufflehead Burrowing owl Chicken (petting zoo) Chilean flamingo Cinnamon teal Cinereous vulture Coconut lorikeet Collared finch-billed bulbul Crested wood partridge East African crowned crane Eastern screech owl Edwards's pheasant Egyptian goose Eurasian eagle owl Great horned owl Greater roadrunner Killdeer Lark sparrow Laughing kookaburra Laysan teal Lesser white-fronted goose Madagascar buttonquail Mallard duck Mandarin duck Marbled teal Mourning dove Nene goose Northern bobwhite Northern cardinal (in the Trail's aviary and in the wild) Northern flicker Northern mockingbird Northern pintail Ostrich Pheasant pigeon Philippine duck Rainbow lorikeet Red-and-green macaw Red-billed blue magpie Red-billed hornbill Red-crested pochard Red-throated bee-eater Ringed teal Ring-necked pheasant Ruddy shelduck Sandhill crane Scissor-tailed flycatcher Southern cassowary Southern screamer Sun conure Superb starling Swainson's lorikeet Swan goose Tawny frogmouth Turkey vulture Von der Decken's hornbill Western meadowlark Wild turkey White-crested laughingthrush White-crowned robin-chat White-faced whistling duck White-necked raven White-vented bulbul Wrinkled hornbill Wood duck Yellow-breasted ground dove

Invertebrates Arizona blond tarantula Chaco golden knee tarantula Madagascar hissing cockroach Monarch butterfly (at the butterfly gardens)

Fish

Blue catfish Bluegill Channel catfish Freshwater drum Largemouth bass Smallmouth bass Spotted gar Striped bass White bass White crappie

Former exhibits

Dolphinarium: The zoo kept bottlenose dolphins from 1986 until 2001. To prevent further dolphin deaths, the dolphins were returned to Mississippi, and the exhibit now hosts sea lions. Monkey Island: Located at the entrance, monkeys would play, eat, and even sleep on a specially made island that was dug down into the ground. Opened in 1935 and dismantled in 1998. The decision was made to get rid of it because zoo visitors would either drop or throw hazardous materials on to the island, and the monkeys would choke. The island was closed and filled in. Today, there is a plaza at the entrance, with a gift shop, a restaurant, and the ZooFriends' office surround a floor where monkey island once was. From 1935 to 1985, there was a ship on the island. Primate House: Built in the 1950s. The apes were kept there until 1993. In 1993, the apes were given a more natural habitat. The building was torn down and the Canopy Food Court was built in its place.

Famous animals

Judy was a famous elephant of the zoo having been a part of the zoo for almost 50 years.

Malee was an Asian elephant born April 15, 2011, weighing 300 pounds, the child of one of the Oklahoma City Zoo's elephants, Asha, and a male elephant named Sneezy who lives at the Tulsa Zoo. The Zoo held birthday parties for her every year. On September 30, 2015, zookeepers noticed discoloration of her trunk. After two failed treatments, she died at 4 AM CST on October 1, 2015. The cause of death was determined to be elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, which the other elephants at the zoo aside from her sister Achara also had.

Tusko was a male Indian elephant who was subject to a controversial drug experiment at the zoo, when it was then known as the Lincoln Park Zoo. On August 3, 1962, researchers from the University of Oklahoma injected him with 297 mg of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), which is nearly three thousand times the human recreational dose (for an animal weighing roughly one hundred times as much as a human). Within five minutes he collapsed to the ground and one hour and forty minutes later he died. It is believed that the LSD was the cause of his death, although some speculate that the drugs the researchers used in an attempt to revive him may have contributed to his death.

Gallery

See also List of botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States

References

References

External links