Zoo Review: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Part I

While many of America's largest cities (and most venerated zoos) are on the coast, I've found that many of its truly great zoos are in the heartland.  Perhaps it's because they are a bit younger, and aren't as handicapped by historical structures which need to be preserved.  Perhaps it's because they tend to have more space to work with.  At any rate, I've often been surprised at where I find my favorite zoos.  One such unexpected surprised for me was the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden.  

I actually had a chance to work at the Oklahoma City Zoo years ago, right out of college.  My first job out of school was going to be one of two zoos, neither of which I'd visited before, and I had to make my decision sight-unseen.  I chose the other.  Months later, I visited Oklahoma City Zoo for the first time, and by the time I walked out the gate, my only thought was, "Man, did I bet on the wrong horse..."  I recently visited it again for the first time in over a decade, and it's only gotten better - and continues to improve.

The zoo, nestled alongside an enormous, beautiful lake (which in itself provides some great birdwatching), is split between taxonomic-themed exhibit areas and geographic ones, with most of the newer exhibits being geographic in scope.   The newest area, Expedition Africa, was in the final stages of construction at the time of my visit, and while I was able to see some of the exhibits as part of the tour, I don't have a full scope of what it will look like, though I suspect it will be incredible, based on the peaks I was given.  Expedition will feature new habitats for some species currently in the collection, as well as new habitats for new species, such as spotted hyena, wildebeest, honey badger, and the denizens of a small animal house, with fish, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals (including the ever-popular naked mole rat).  I strongly approve of this - too often, African exhibits focus on the megafauna, while ignoring the much smaller but equally fascinating small animals of the continent.  I'm sure Expedition will be a sensation when it opens later this year, and I look forward to going back to see the final project.

The vicinity of this new African area currently has a few exhibits of African wildlife - okapi, giraffe, cheetah, African wild dog - which will be incorporated into the region.  Camel rides are also nearby, though I was unsure how those would fit into the exhibit plan, or if they would be left as is.

Prior to Africa, the zoo's latest major expansion was Sanctuary Asia.  Unlike Africa, Asia is pretty focused on the biggest and most popular of animals, and the cast is fairly familiar to many zoo visitors - though the habitats themselves are quite nice.  The biggest exhibit is for the breeding herd of Asian elephants, which occupy a series of large paddocks, complete with pools, shade structures, and dust bathing areas, centered around a large, heavily-themed barn.  The elephant exhibit itself is larger than some small zoos.  Elephants can be observed doing training demonstrations in an amphitheater, while the inside of their large, temple-like barn is visible through large windows, providing a behind-the-scenes peak into how the elephants are managed.  For neighbors, the elephants have the second-largest zoo residents, Indian rhinoceroses, which occupy their own spacious yard.  The nearby Lotus Pavilion is a two-story food court and event space, which is surrounded by habitats for cassowary, red panda, Komodo dragon, and Francois' langur.  The later (at least at the time of my visit earlier this year) shared exhibit space with raccoon dog, a very rarely kept species in the US and one of the highlights of the trip for me.  Again, some smaller species would have improved the experience, though small Asian birds and herps are exhibited elsewhere in the zoo.

Sanctuary Asia is nice, but for me, the real star of the zoo is Oklahoma Trail, a beautiful, thoroughly-complete complex of the wildlife of this vast, diverse state.  I feel in love with it when I first visited it years ago, and while a few species have phased out of the collection since then, most notably the Mexican and red wolves, it's still pretty spectacular.  With its own walk-through aviary, reptile house/aquarium, and nocturnal house (admittedly all three are fairly small), the trail could serve as a stand alone facility almost.  Along the looping trail, the entrance guarded by a bear statue, visitors will encounter coyote, bald eagle, puma, and whooping crane, among other species.  The small walk-through aviary houses a pleasant variety of birds, with a side aviary for greater roadrunners, perhaps my favorite bird of the American west.  Right next door is a red barnlike structure which serves as a small nocturnal house, with bats, amphibians, owls, and a habitat for ringtails - small, cat-like carnivores which are actually more closely-related to raccoons.  This is only the second time I'd ever seen the species, and never so active.  Nocturnal houses themselves are increasingly uncommon in zoos, and while it was pretty small, it was still a novel experience.

Outside are the big guns of the section - a large paddock of American bison (with a prairie dog exhibit set in the front) and the grizzly bears.  The grizzly bears can also be seen eye-to-eye through glass windows of the Big Rivers building, which houses reptiles, amphibians, and fish, with the wall opposite of the bears serving as underwater viewing into a display of river otters.  Outside, American blacks bears, alligators, and elk round out the collection.  I could easily imagine Oklahoma Trails serving as an excellent nature center if it was found elsewhere, maybe in a small town which couldn't support an enormous zoo like this.  If there was just one thing I would change about it if I could, I'd have more space and spread the exhibits out a little more, creating more room for native habitats and wildlife to appear, complimenting the exhibits.  I think a few exhibits on the history and culture of Oklahoma would also be a nice touch.

Speaking of history, between Oklahoma Trails and Sanctuary Asia is a small, brick building - this is the Gambulos ZooZeum, which tells the history of the institution since it's opening back in 1903.  It's a novel feature, one that I wish more zoos and aquariums would include.

Tomorrow, we'll look at the rest of the zoo, which is more taxonomic in scope.

Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden