- Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
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Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden Date opened 1902 (Wheeler Park Zoo)[1]
1920 (as Lincoln Park Zoo)[2]Location Adventure District, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Land area 110 acres (45 ha) Coordinates 35°31′16″N 97°28′21″W / 35.5212°N 97.4724°WCoordinates: 35°31′16″N 97°28′21″W / 35.5212°N 97.4724°W Number of animals 1,700 Memberships AZA,[3] AAM[4] Website okczoo.com The widely acclaimed Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is a zoo and botanical garden located in the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The zoo covers 110 acres (45 ha) and is home to more than 1,700 animals. It is open every day but Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day; an admission fee is charged. The Oklahoma City Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Association of Museums.
Contents
Exhibits
- Cat Forest/Lion Overlook (4.2 acres (1.7 ha)): nine species of wild cats including lions, tigers, and snow leopards, with more than 4,000 plants replicating native environments.[5]
- Great EscAPE (6 acres (2.4 ha)): 20 animals, including two troops of gorillas, one family of orangutans, and a community of chimpanzees, in tropical rainforest plantings.[6]
- Aquaticus: more than 1,500 aquatic creatures, including California sea lions and coral.[7]
- Butterfly Garden (21,000 square feet (2,000 m2)): a range of butterflies, including the Monarch butterfly, the Painted Lady, the Giant Swallowtail, and the Eastern Black Swallowtail, within an environment of more than 15,000 plants.[8]
- Island Life: representative species from around the world including Galápagos tortoises, Caribbean flamingos, Abaco Island boas, San Esteban Island chuckwalla lizards, as well as a herpetarium with over 80 exhibits.[9]
- Oklahoma Trails: the most recent section, was opened to the public on March 10, 2007. Its total area is 7.7 acres (3.1 ha). It features animals native to Oklahoma, including; black bears, alligators, Bison, beavers, over two dozen snakes, and more. It even has a walk-in bird exhibit and a barn, which houses bats, skunks, and owls.[10]
The Oklahoma City Zoo opened the new Children's Zoo on March 12, 2010. Where kids can see and touch unusual barnyard animals in the "Barnyard". Splash in the Waterway, complete with waterfall, flamingos frolicking nearby and a koi pond. Explore natural play spaces and enjoy room to roam in "My Secret Forest". Discover all the creepy, crawly creatures that live in the "Underground". Educational programs featured on "Grandma's Porch." Walk through with the ever-popular lorikeets. See the Spider and Squirrel Monkeys too. Other amusements within the zoo include a climbing wall, safari tram, a carousel, the Sea Lion Show, two small trains and swan paddleboats.
Surrounding the zoo are the Zoo Amphitheater, Lincoln Park, Northeast Lake and the Lincoln Park Golf Course. Other attractions adjacent to the zoo are the Science Museum Oklahoma (formerly called the Omniplex), the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum. Other attractions in the Oklahoma City Adventure District include the Remington Park Racetrack, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the 45th Infantry Division Museum, Tinseltown USA, and Coles Garden.
Featured Animals
This is a partial list of many of the animals found at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Reptiles/Amphibians
- Abaco Island Boa
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- American Alligator
- Argentine Horned Frog
- Beaded Lizard
- Black-headed Python
- Black-tailed rattlesnake
- Black Rat Snake
- Boa Constrictor
- Common Collared Lizard
- Common Snake-necked Turtle
- Copperhead
- Crocodile monitor
- Diamond Python
- Dumeril's Boa
- East African Green Mamba
- Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
- Egyptian Cobra
- Emerald Tree Boa
- Eyelash Palm Pitviper
- Galapagos Tortoise
- Gila Monster
- Green Anaconda
- Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
- Green Tree Python
- King Cobra
- Madagascar Tree Boa
- Marine Toad
- Plains Garter Snake
- Prairie Rattlesnake
- Red Spitting Cobra
- Red-eared Slider
- Reticulated Python
- Rock rattlesnake
- Shield-nosed Cobra
- Sidewinder
- Speckled rattlesnake
- Surinam Toad
- Timber Rattlesnake
- Western Cottonmouth
- Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Western Massasauga Rattlesnake
- Western Pygmy Rattlesnake
- White's Tree Frog
- Woma Python
- Woodhouse's Toad
Mammals
- African Wild Dog
- African Porcupine
- American Badger
- American Beaver
- American Bison
- American Black Bear
- Asian Elephant
- Babirusa
- Bat-eared Fox
- Black-footed Cat
- Black Rhinoceros
- Bobcat
- Bontebok
- Bush dog
- California Sea Lion
- Caracal
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Common Raccoon
- Cottontail rabbit (they're wild)
- Cougar
- Coyote
- Elk
- Fishing Cat
- Gerenuk
- Giant Anteater
- Golden-headed Lion Tamarin
- Grant's Gazelle
- Grant's Zebra
- Grevy's Zebra
- Grizzly Bear
- Harbor Seal
- Indian Rhinoceros
- Insectivorous Bat
- Jaguar
- Lion
- Maned Wolf
- Meerkat
- Mexican Grey Wolf
- Mexican Fruit Bat
- Nine-banded Armadillo
- North American Porcupine
- North American River Otter
- Ocelot
- Okapi
- Opossum
- Pere David's Deer
- Parma Wallaby
- Pronghorn
- Pudu
- Red Fox
- Red Kangaroo
- Red Panda
- Red River Hog
- Red Wolf
- Reticulated Giraffe
- Ringtail Cat
- Ring-tailed Lemur
- Sable Antelope
- Serval
- Snow Leopard
- Somali Wild Ass
- Southern Flying Squirrel
- Southern Three-banded Armadillo
- Spotted Hyena
- Striped Skunk
- Sumatran Orangutan
- Sumatran Tiger
- Swift Fox
- Thomson's Gazelle
- Western Lowland Gorilla
Birds
- American Avocet
- American Robin
- Andean Condor
- Bald Eagle
- Bali Mynah
- Barn Owl
- Black-crowned Night Heron
- Blue Jay
- Burrowing Owl
- Canada Goose (around the lake, you can feed them food from food dispensers)
- Caribbean Flamingo
- Carmine bee-eater
- Chilean Flamingo
- Demoiselle Crane
- East African Crowned Crane
- Eastern Bluebird
- Emu
- Eurasian Eagle Owl
- Great Horned Owl
- Greater Roadrunner
- Harpy Eagle
- Indian Peafowl (roam around the zoo uncaged)
- King Vulture
- Lark Sparrow
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Lorikeet
- Mallard Duck
- Mandarin Duck
- Marbled Teal
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal (in the Trail's aviary and in the wild)
- Northern Mockingbird
- Ostrich
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Ring-billed Gull
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Saddle-billed Stork
- Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
- Speckled Mousebird
- Tundra Swan
- Turkey Vulture
- West African Crowned Crane
- Wild Turkey
- Wreathed Hornbill
- White-crested Laughingthrush
- White Stork
Invertebrates
- Bark Scorpion
- Black Widow Spider
- Chilean Rose Tarantula (in the Safari Gift Shop at the entrance of the zoo)
- Desert Tarantula
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
- Monarch Butterfly (at the butterfly gardens)
Fish
- Clearfin Lionfish
- Clownfish (probably Common Clownfish)
- Clown Triggerfish
- Electric Eel
- Emperor angelfish
- Longnose Gar
- Lionfish[disambiguation needed ]
- Lookdown
- Paddlefish
- Rainbowfish
- Red Bellied Piranha
- Seahorse
- Shortnose gar
- Spotted Bass
- Spotted Gar
- Stonefish
- Striped Bass
- Sweetlips
- Yellow Tang
Gallery
See also
Notes
- ^ Stephens 2006, pp. 9
- ^ Stephens 2006, pp. 37
- ^ "List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. http://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "List of Accredited Museums". aam-us.org. American Association of Museums. http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/accred/list.cfmt/. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Cat Forest/Lion Overlook". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/cat-forest-lion-overlook/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Great EscApe". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/great-escape/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Noble Aquatic Center: Aquaticus". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/noble-aquatic-center-aquaticus/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Butterfly Garden". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/butterfly-garden/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Island Life". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/island-life/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Oklahoma Trails". okczoo.com. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. http://www.okczoo.com/animals-plants/oklahoma-trails/. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
References
- Amy Dee Stephens (2006). Oklahoma City Zoo: 1902-1959. Charleston, S.C: Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-4049-8.
External links
- Media related to Oklahoma City Zoo at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
Zoos of Oklahoma - Little River Zoo
- Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
- Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum
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Categories:- Botanical gardens in Oklahoma
- Zoos in Oklahoma
- Culture of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Protected areas of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
- Visitor attractions in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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