flatstingray
Member
Ever dreamed on feeding an Okapi?
Booking stuff for my first visit to a US zoo, I realized there was an activity to meet up an Okapi at the San Antonio Zoo. I found little information online, so I wanted to (not so) briefly detail you how it went. Hope anyone finds this helpful for your next zoo trip.
It is online booking only. You can find it in the tab “Experiences”, and subtab “Behind the scenes”. Link . It costs about $26 USD. As a side note, apparently some payment information only allowed me to choose from either: Canada, United States or Mexico. As I was paying from Mexico, I had no further issues, but I don’t know if this would be a hurdle for zoochatters paying from other countries.
As of October 2024, the activity is only once a day, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30am. I booked it a week earlier and all spots were available, but beware, as there are only 6 spots. The entire experience takes about 30 mins.
You have to arrive 15 minutes earlier to the ticket booth next to the carrousel, where a member of the staff will be waiting for you. When the group is ready, you´ll be taken through the “Africa Live!” area of the zoo, passing through hippo enclosure, the aviary and arriving at a service door. There, you´ll wait for a keeper, who is the one that is going to take you inside the Okapi´s barn.
The Okapi barn is humid and reaaally warm. Perfect for Okapis, but not for humans with jackets. It is an active animal barn, so expect a bit of a smell. But we all love animals, so it is a scent I´ll remember fondly. The keeper explains you their diet, part of the personality of each Okapi in the food prepping area. In my case, the keeper was extremely polite and willing to answer any question. You then go quietly under dimmer lights to the aisle of the Okapi´s stalls. At my time, the male was at his stall. Most of the stall is covered with wood planks to make them feel comfortable, so you might have like a 33%ish uncovered gap where you can view the Okapi. Having such a majestic creature up close, almost capable hearing their breath, is something I never imagined to experience.
Now, for the best part: you follow the keeper, exit the Okapi´s barn and go back to the normal visitor pathway towards the Okapi enclosure. There is a wooden covered structure, sort of a stall, where the keeper opens you the door and lets you in. A wooden barrier about 1.5m / 5ft tall is the only thing that separates you from the Okapi´s. There, you get to feed the Okapi´s! And it is not a tiny branch or just a single leave. The other guests and yourself get to share a sizeable batch of branches, almost like a mini bale.
The Okapi mom and his son were in the habitat, and approached us to eat by popping their heads up above fence. They are way bigger than I thought, and watching their long tongue almost twist around the branch you hold at an arm’s length, is by far the best thing of this experience. The keeper keeps talking about the Okapi´s and answering questions while you are feeding them. This last around 10 – 15 mins. They were pretty comfortable feeding with us through the whole experience. Near the end, noises from the construction site above (The Okapi paddock lies directly below the construction site for the new Congo Falls) set the Okapis in alert mode, and retired to the back of the exhibit. Later that same day, I walked a few times by their paddock again, but apparently they were all now inside the barn.
Now, why should you do it?
This is a pretty personal thing, but I´ll tell you my reasoning behind it. Given that there is only one zoo (Zoológico de León) in my country with Okapis, it was a MUST for me to do it. Also, how many zoos of the world can you get to feed an Okapi? I don’t know, but I don’t think that many.
The price of this experience alone ($26 USD) matches the Zoo´s children regular admission ticket price ($28 USD). For a whole family, it can quickly add up. However, in the world of Behind the Scenes/Experiences with animals, the price point could be justified. Sea World Orlando´s Beluga Whales Up-Close Tour can go from $89 USD to $139 USD per person. And I´ve seen non-accredited roadside zoos in Mexico charge up to $8 USD for a picture with an average croc. In this light, $26 USD seems somewhat reasonable.
Even if I´m not an avid Bird enthusiast that could easily spent more time in San Antonio Zoo, I still spent 4-5 hours in the zoo. I planned to visit the nearby Japanese Garden and the Witte Museum, so I arrived at rope drop at the zoo (9:00 am). But after eating a quick meal in a nearby barbecue place, I was only left with less of an hour to rush through the Witte Museum. So if you are planning to do multiple Behind-The-Scenes, Tours or Animal Experiences, you might spent ¾ of a day or more at the zoo, with little to no space for further activities in the area in that day. Given that some of the other activities available are with animals more commonly found in zoos(Kangaroo, Giraffe, Butterfly, Flamingoes, Hippo,…), you might prioritize the Behind-The-Scenes with the Okapi.
Tip for anyone visiting San Antonio or other cities in the USA, there is program/app/webpage called CITYPASS Link which allows you to get you a set amount of discounted tickets for several facilities (museum, parks, zoos, tourist attractions, etc..) and using them as you go. Some discounts are HUGE, like up to 40%, so you could save the difference in the ticket entrance to make your buck go further… or spend it at the zoo store like me.
All in all, it is a great experience I would recommend to any zoochatter going to San Antonio Zoo. Hope you found this long text helpful.
Booking stuff for my first visit to a US zoo, I realized there was an activity to meet up an Okapi at the San Antonio Zoo. I found little information online, so I wanted to (not so) briefly detail you how it went. Hope anyone finds this helpful for your next zoo trip.
It is online booking only. You can find it in the tab “Experiences”, and subtab “Behind the scenes”. Link . It costs about $26 USD. As a side note, apparently some payment information only allowed me to choose from either: Canada, United States or Mexico. As I was paying from Mexico, I had no further issues, but I don’t know if this would be a hurdle for zoochatters paying from other countries.
As of October 2024, the activity is only once a day, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30am. I booked it a week earlier and all spots were available, but beware, as there are only 6 spots. The entire experience takes about 30 mins.
You have to arrive 15 minutes earlier to the ticket booth next to the carrousel, where a member of the staff will be waiting for you. When the group is ready, you´ll be taken through the “Africa Live!” area of the zoo, passing through hippo enclosure, the aviary and arriving at a service door. There, you´ll wait for a keeper, who is the one that is going to take you inside the Okapi´s barn.
The Okapi barn is humid and reaaally warm. Perfect for Okapis, but not for humans with jackets. It is an active animal barn, so expect a bit of a smell. But we all love animals, so it is a scent I´ll remember fondly. The keeper explains you their diet, part of the personality of each Okapi in the food prepping area. In my case, the keeper was extremely polite and willing to answer any question. You then go quietly under dimmer lights to the aisle of the Okapi´s stalls. At my time, the male was at his stall. Most of the stall is covered with wood planks to make them feel comfortable, so you might have like a 33%ish uncovered gap where you can view the Okapi. Having such a majestic creature up close, almost capable hearing their breath, is something I never imagined to experience.
Now, for the best part: you follow the keeper, exit the Okapi´s barn and go back to the normal visitor pathway towards the Okapi enclosure. There is a wooden covered structure, sort of a stall, where the keeper opens you the door and lets you in. A wooden barrier about 1.5m / 5ft tall is the only thing that separates you from the Okapi´s. There, you get to feed the Okapi´s! And it is not a tiny branch or just a single leave. The other guests and yourself get to share a sizeable batch of branches, almost like a mini bale.
The Okapi mom and his son were in the habitat, and approached us to eat by popping their heads up above fence. They are way bigger than I thought, and watching their long tongue almost twist around the branch you hold at an arm’s length, is by far the best thing of this experience. The keeper keeps talking about the Okapi´s and answering questions while you are feeding them. This last around 10 – 15 mins. They were pretty comfortable feeding with us through the whole experience. Near the end, noises from the construction site above (The Okapi paddock lies directly below the construction site for the new Congo Falls) set the Okapis in alert mode, and retired to the back of the exhibit. Later that same day, I walked a few times by their paddock again, but apparently they were all now inside the barn.
Now, why should you do it?
This is a pretty personal thing, but I´ll tell you my reasoning behind it. Given that there is only one zoo (Zoológico de León) in my country with Okapis, it was a MUST for me to do it. Also, how many zoos of the world can you get to feed an Okapi? I don’t know, but I don’t think that many.
The price of this experience alone ($26 USD) matches the Zoo´s children regular admission ticket price ($28 USD). For a whole family, it can quickly add up. However, in the world of Behind the Scenes/Experiences with animals, the price point could be justified. Sea World Orlando´s Beluga Whales Up-Close Tour can go from $89 USD to $139 USD per person. And I´ve seen non-accredited roadside zoos in Mexico charge up to $8 USD for a picture with an average croc. In this light, $26 USD seems somewhat reasonable.
Even if I´m not an avid Bird enthusiast that could easily spent more time in San Antonio Zoo, I still spent 4-5 hours in the zoo. I planned to visit the nearby Japanese Garden and the Witte Museum, so I arrived at rope drop at the zoo (9:00 am). But after eating a quick meal in a nearby barbecue place, I was only left with less of an hour to rush through the Witte Museum. So if you are planning to do multiple Behind-The-Scenes, Tours or Animal Experiences, you might spent ¾ of a day or more at the zoo, with little to no space for further activities in the area in that day. Given that some of the other activities available are with animals more commonly found in zoos(Kangaroo, Giraffe, Butterfly, Flamingoes, Hippo,…), you might prioritize the Behind-The-Scenes with the Okapi.
Tip for anyone visiting San Antonio or other cities in the USA, there is program/app/webpage called CITYPASS Link which allows you to get you a set amount of discounted tickets for several facilities (museum, parks, zoos, tourist attractions, etc..) and using them as you go. Some discounts are HUGE, like up to 40%, so you could save the difference in the ticket entrance to make your buck go further… or spend it at the zoo store like me.
All in all, it is a great experience I would recommend to any zoochatter going to San Antonio Zoo. Hope you found this long text helpful.
