Oklahoma City Zoo New Asian Exhibits Opening In 2011
- Thread starter mstickmanp
- Start date
I've been monitoring the progress of the Asian elephant exhibit, and today is the day that it opens to the public. I'm intrigued to read a response from when you eventually visit, as having 3.6 acres to roam makes it the largest Asian elephant habitat in the country. There is a 2.6 acre yard, a 0.5 acre bull yard, another 0.5 acre yard which can be combined with the bull yard, and a 15,600 square foot barn. Impressive! Oklahoma City is already a terrific zoo and this new addition will solidify it as one of the 10-15 best zoos in the United States.
I don't like how recent zoos have been filming their new elephant exhibits. They probably don't want to show too much so people actually visit it, but I feel they never try to show it off either. Anyway, I do like the food enrichment above the elephants heads.
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mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
The LA Zoo's Elephants of Asia is also 3.6 acres in size.
I'm making the incredibly poor decision to drive from Denton, TX to OKC on Tuesday. Guess I'll be the first to see it since jbnbsn99 was SCARED of the spring break crowds. 
However, I have never been to the OCK Zoo before, I drove through the city once on my way to Tulsa with some friends for iPhone 1 launch day/opening of an Apple Store. I've been to the OKC border a few times (Casino). And I know the demographics, population shifts and politics of the state pretty well (OK-5 which is the congressional district that includes OKC grew almost EXACTLY at the same pace as the state, CD shouldn't change at all). Yet, this week I'm making 3 trips to OK: Zoo Tuesday, Casino Wed, and Camping Fri-Sun.
However, I have never been to the OCK Zoo before, I drove through the city once on my way to Tulsa with some friends for iPhone 1 launch day/opening of an Apple Store. I've been to the OKC border a few times (Casino). And I know the demographics, population shifts and politics of the state pretty well (OK-5 which is the congressional district that includes OKC grew almost EXACTLY at the same pace as the state, CD shouldn't change at all). Yet, this week I'm making 3 trips to OK: Zoo Tuesday, Casino Wed, and Camping Fri-Sun.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
I'm making the incredibly poor decision to drive from Denton, TX to OKC on Tuesday. Guess I'll be the first to see it since jbnbsn99 was SCARED of the spring break crowds.
However, I have never been to the OCK Zoo before, I drove through the city once on my way to Tulsa with some friends for iPhone 1 launch day/opening of an Apple Store. I've been to the OKC border a few times (Casino). And I know the demographics, population shifts and politics of the state pretty well (OK-5 which is the congressional district that includes OKC grew almost EXACTLY at the same pace as the state, CD shouldn't change at all). Yet, this week I'm making 3 trips to OK: Zoo Tuesday, Casino Wed, and Camping Fri-Sun.
We'll all be waiting here for some photos and a review!
This is yet another reason why I need to visit the OKC zoo soon.
If you plan your route carefully you can still semi-enjoy yourself at a zoo on spring break if it's large enough. I have visited Dallas on spring break before, saw the exhibits that would get crowded the fastest first, then the ones most people don't care about (such as bird valley). It worked quite well, but it did mean some extra walking.
If you plan your route carefully you can still semi-enjoy yourself at a zoo on spring break if it's large enough. I have visited Dallas on spring break before, saw the exhibits that would get crowded the fastest first, then the ones most people don't care about (such as bird valley). It worked quite well, but it did mean some extra walking.
dragon(ele)nerd
Well-Known Member
No it wasn't, quite a shame really.
On the link below there is an interesting photo of one of the female elephants walking across small wooden logs, and another photo of the large pavilion that seats hundreds for the elephant presentations. Oklahoma City Zoo will probably have record-breaking attendance this year, as the new 3.6 acre Asian elephant habitat combined with a baby elephant in the next month will create a mass rush from the public. Of minor annoyance to me is that the zoo has not updated its map in at least 3 full years! There has been the addition of a multi-million dollar Children's Zoo, the switching around of a number of species, and now the elephant exhibit and yet the map online is identical to the one that I received on my visit in the summer of 2008.
Elephant demonstration area popular with Oklahoma City Zoo visitors | NewsOK.com
Elephant demonstration area popular with Oklahoma City Zoo visitors | NewsOK.com
OK, sorry for being a week plus late, but I've been there and I've seen it now.
First of all, this was my first trip to the OKZoo. And yes, I was impressed. Like Fort Worth, it is a complete zoo, but unlike Fort Worth, it doesn't feel like it is falling apart due to age and neglect. The apes are done well enough, I really like their cat collection which have some good and bad, and think OK Trails is VERY impressive, except for the lasrge fence along the back of the bear exhibits. Anyone complaining about Dallas' fence in Giants needs to re-examine this, because it is implemented in a worse way. That said, OK Trails is pretty great, and the zoo over all is very complete. When Asia is complete, I'd like to see the middle of the zoo hollowed out, including the pachyderm house for a new African area.
But. you're all here to hear about Asian elephants. In short, it's good. Three large yards, with water in each. the two smaller yards are obviously not lived in at all and the patches from grass can still be seen. The way it works is you have a path you follow between the yards, which for now kinda loops around and sends you right back out where you came in ala OK Trails. For some reason, they decided to send visitors 30 feets into the air on this path giving an areal view of the exhibits and the barn. The barn, btw, goes up against the path, and has a giant glass window to peer into. Not much to see other than the main "lobby" area between different stalls. The area is huge, especially for 2.5 elephants, and more members are needed for this herd. The two they have look quite small up in the air with the amount of space they have.
Then there's the show. The auditorium is a basic concrete pavilion area and it works. The show has a lot of basic behavioral paths, but I'm not a fan of some of the things shown, like having the elephants walk across the logs, which I felt was a bit too circus-ey. If one of them were to fall, this zoo would be hurting. There is a powered gate between the demo area and the main yard. That said, this is a solid exhibit, it needs some time for the elephants to move in and make it their own, as well as some additional elephants. This is designed for 6-8, and it needs 6-8. I hope it holds up well over the next few years.
Oh, one last thing. When I went it was during my spring break from University of North Texas. Seems OKC breaks 1 week later. Also the weather all day was about 40 degrees. In other words, I was freezing and had the zoo to myself. So, yeah, there was that.
First of all, this was my first trip to the OKZoo. And yes, I was impressed. Like Fort Worth, it is a complete zoo, but unlike Fort Worth, it doesn't feel like it is falling apart due to age and neglect. The apes are done well enough, I really like their cat collection which have some good and bad, and think OK Trails is VERY impressive, except for the lasrge fence along the back of the bear exhibits. Anyone complaining about Dallas' fence in Giants needs to re-examine this, because it is implemented in a worse way. That said, OK Trails is pretty great, and the zoo over all is very complete. When Asia is complete, I'd like to see the middle of the zoo hollowed out, including the pachyderm house for a new African area.
But. you're all here to hear about Asian elephants. In short, it's good. Three large yards, with water in each. the two smaller yards are obviously not lived in at all and the patches from grass can still be seen. The way it works is you have a path you follow between the yards, which for now kinda loops around and sends you right back out where you came in ala OK Trails. For some reason, they decided to send visitors 30 feets into the air on this path giving an areal view of the exhibits and the barn. The barn, btw, goes up against the path, and has a giant glass window to peer into. Not much to see other than the main "lobby" area between different stalls. The area is huge, especially for 2.5 elephants, and more members are needed for this herd. The two they have look quite small up in the air with the amount of space they have.
Then there's the show. The auditorium is a basic concrete pavilion area and it works. The show has a lot of basic behavioral paths, but I'm not a fan of some of the things shown, like having the elephants walk across the logs, which I felt was a bit too circus-ey. If one of them were to fall, this zoo would be hurting. There is a powered gate between the demo area and the main yard. That said, this is a solid exhibit, it needs some time for the elephants to move in and make it their own, as well as some additional elephants. This is designed for 6-8, and it needs 6-8. I hope it holds up well over the next few years.
Oh, one last thing. When I went it was during my spring break from University of North Texas. Seems OKC breaks 1 week later. Also the weather all day was about 40 degrees. In other words, I was freezing and had the zoo to myself. So, yeah, there was that.
Drew
Well-Known Member
I ventured down to OKC today to see their newest exhibit and thought i'd share a couple of comments.
First the likes....there is a ton more space devoted to the elephants than they previously had and it seems as though they will have plenty of enrichment opportunities. The holding and on-exhibit dayrooms are of a good size and it seems that the zoo has great flexibility in how they shift and manage the animals which i'm sure they really like. The elephant show was real hit for the people viewing it and was semi-educational (it was more circus-like than i had hoped). The facade along the elephant building was well done and had a very nice Asian theme to it but getting there is another story.
Now the hit-and-miss....The overall "hugeness" of every single component of the exhibit. I get these are large animals and I understand a lot of the structures need to be large in order to handle the crowds but it seems the designers went out of their way to emphasize size for every single aspect (handrails, benches, shade structures, buildings, ect.). In a weird way in kind of made a very large, impressive animal feel really small when viewed in the exhibit. I'm sure the shade structures provide a lot of needed shade but they are almost comically big! I do, however, appreciate the materials, the enrichment connected with them, and the overall design is nice and simple so in that way i liked them.
Now the swing-and-miss ....I was really disappointed with the entry, general circulation, and site design. There is no sense of entry to this exhibit! I thought I had come in the wrong way when i first entered. With all the grandeur evoked with the marketing and the "hugeness" mentioned earlier I expected a proper entry to let me know i've arrived but it just wasn't there. I think the site design and circulation go hand in hand so i'll elaborate on them together. The arrangement of the exhibits, buildings, ect. made for a very long, boring, unnecessary walk. I liked being able to see inside the building but they have you go 25-30 ft. in the air to do it which means a lot of ramps! I am hoping that the arrangement of circulation makes a lot more sense for the future development of their "Expedition Asia" area and that there is some measure taken to screen a back-of-house road that is actually the first thing you see when you enter this complex. Part of the reason for the circulation dilemma i'm sure is the fact they retained a building labeled as the "Zoo Museum" (or Zooseum maybe?) which is smack dab in the middle of the new elephant exhibit and thus feels really out of place.
Overall I thought it was a great exhibit for the elephants and a less than average exhibit for guest experience so I think the above review of good was pretty close.
First the likes....there is a ton more space devoted to the elephants than they previously had and it seems as though they will have plenty of enrichment opportunities. The holding and on-exhibit dayrooms are of a good size and it seems that the zoo has great flexibility in how they shift and manage the animals which i'm sure they really like. The elephant show was real hit for the people viewing it and was semi-educational (it was more circus-like than i had hoped). The facade along the elephant building was well done and had a very nice Asian theme to it but getting there is another story.
Now the hit-and-miss....The overall "hugeness" of every single component of the exhibit. I get these are large animals and I understand a lot of the structures need to be large in order to handle the crowds but it seems the designers went out of their way to emphasize size for every single aspect (handrails, benches, shade structures, buildings, ect.). In a weird way in kind of made a very large, impressive animal feel really small when viewed in the exhibit. I'm sure the shade structures provide a lot of needed shade but they are almost comically big! I do, however, appreciate the materials, the enrichment connected with them, and the overall design is nice and simple so in that way i liked them.
Now the swing-and-miss ....I was really disappointed with the entry, general circulation, and site design. There is no sense of entry to this exhibit! I thought I had come in the wrong way when i first entered. With all the grandeur evoked with the marketing and the "hugeness" mentioned earlier I expected a proper entry to let me know i've arrived but it just wasn't there. I think the site design and circulation go hand in hand so i'll elaborate on them together. The arrangement of the exhibits, buildings, ect. made for a very long, boring, unnecessary walk. I liked being able to see inside the building but they have you go 25-30 ft. in the air to do it which means a lot of ramps! I am hoping that the arrangement of circulation makes a lot more sense for the future development of their "Expedition Asia" area and that there is some measure taken to screen a back-of-house road that is actually the first thing you see when you enter this complex. Part of the reason for the circulation dilemma i'm sure is the fact they retained a building labeled as the "Zoo Museum" (or Zooseum maybe?) which is smack dab in the middle of the new elephant exhibit and thus feels really out of place.
Overall I thought it was a great exhibit for the elephants and a less than average exhibit for guest experience so I think the above review of good was pretty close.
@Trowaman & Drew: thanks very much for the reviews on the multi-acre Asian elephant exhibit, but what about some photos in the ZooChat gallery?
@Trowaman & Drew: thanks very much for the reviews on the multi-acre Asian elephant exhibit, but what about some photos in the ZooChat gallery?
Got none. I don't carry cameras on me, really. Sorry.
