Expedition Africa:
I visited the OKC Zoo last Thursday (Feb. 1, 2024) and posted some photos. I also thought that I'd post a species list for the new Expedition Africa area. It is not fully open, but most of the exhibits seem to be occupied and/or signed, so I believe that it will be fully open in another month or so. Expedition Africa include indoor exhibits in the remodeled Pachyderm Building, and outdoor exhibits where the former Island Life exhibit, the Pachyderm yards, the Asian deer exhibit, and the former Giraffe yard used to be. Here is what I saw in-person or on signs last week in Expedition Africa.
Within the Expedition Africa building (remodeled former Pachyderm Building):
Individual tanks with the following amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals:
Tomato Frog (Dyscophus antongili) – 0.0.1
African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) – 0.0.1
Ocellated Skink (Chalcides ocellatus) – 0.0.2+ (in the men's restroom)
Fantastic Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) – 0.0.1
Electric Blue Day Gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi) - unfortunately I didn't see it/them
Namib Giant Ground Gecko (Chondrodactylus angulifer) - unfortunately I didn't see it either
Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis) – 0.0.1
Central African Rock Python (Python sebae) – 0.0.1
Giant Madagascar Hognose Snake (Leioheterodon madagascariensis ?) - in the women's restroom so unfortunately I didn't see it
Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) – 0.0.1
Ethiopian Mountain Adder (Bitis parviocula) – 0.0.1
Rhinoceros Viper (Bitis nasicornis) – 0.0.1
Variable Bush Viper (Atheris squamigera) – 0.0.1
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (Echinops telfairi) - 0.0.2
African Pygmy Mouse (Mus minutoides) – 0.0.2
Barbary Striped Mouse (Lemniscomys barbarus) – 0.0.4
Naked Mole Rat – colony of at least 20 including 4 small young
Mixed Species Exhibit with 5 Ornate Uromastyx (Uromastyx ornata) and 7 Painted Agamas (Stellagama stellio)
Mixed Species Exhibit with unseen Egyptian Uromastyx (Uromastyx aegyptia) and 5 Giant Plated Lizards (Matobosaurus validus)
Mixed Species Exhibit with 7 Bibron’s Agamas (Agama bibronii) and at least one Mozambique Girdled Lizard (Smaug mossambicus)
Lake Malawi Tank:
There were about 45 to 55 fish in the tank but most of them looked like hybrids/mongrel cichlids. The following eight species were signed, but I only saw individuals that looked pure for Red Empress Cichlid and Zebra Mbuna (but I'm not a fish expert). These are the eight species that were signed:
Dogtooth Cichlid (Cynotilapia afra), East African Zebra Cichlid (Haplochromis obliquidens), Golden Mbuna (Melanochromis auratus), Kadango Cichlid (Copadichromis borleyi), Zebra Mbuna (Maylandia zebra), Red Empress Cichlid (Protomelas taeniolatus), Venustus Cichlid (Nimbochromis venustus), and Blue Mbuna (Lebeotropheus fuelleborni)
Dwarf Crocodile Tank:
Elongated Lemon Cichlid (Neolamprologos longior) – 0.0.5+
Frontosa Cichlid (Cyphotilapia frontosa) – 0.0.8+
Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre) – 0.0.3+
Yellow-banded Cichlid (Tropheus duboisi) – 0.0.13+
This was a very nice looking tank and it is supposed to house a West African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) at some point, but I didn't see her.
African Lungfish Tank:
African Lungfish (Protopterus annectens) – 0.0.1
Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus) – 0.0.24
Butterfly Fish Tank:
Freshwater Butterfly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi) – 0.0.3
Leopard Puffer (Tetraodon schoutedeni) – 0.0.5
Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre) – 0.0.3 small ones
African Banded Barb (Enteromius fasciolatus) – 0.0.20+ (very active)
Debauwi Catfish (Pareutropis debauwi) – 0.0.2
Also in the building was an indoor exhibit housing a pair of Von der Decken's Hornbills (Tockus deckeni) and an indoor-outdoor exhibit with four Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula).
Outside of the building there were exhibits for the following:
Honey Badger - 1.1 (Mellivora capensis)
Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) - 0.0.33 (I'm very grateful that the zoo kept their long-established, breeding group of Caribbean Flamingos rather than replacing them with dull Greater Flamingos)
Cape (Spotted) Thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) - at least one
Meerkat (Suricata suricatta): there was an empty but signed exhibit for them and they are supposed to be returning to the zoo
An exhibit with 3 Ring-tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) and 2 Red Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia rubra)
Giraffe (Giraffa camolepardalis - Reticulate-type hybrids) - 1.5.1 (female calf born this fall)
Nile Lechwe (Kobus megaceros) - 1.3 (I saw the three females but not the male)
Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) - 1.1
Red-flanked Duiker (Cephalophus rufilatus) - 1.0 (unfortunately I didn't see him)
Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) - is didn't seem them, but there should be 4 or 5
Okapi (Okapia johnstoni) - 2.1 (I saw two of the three)
Addra Gazelle (Nanger dama ruficollis) - 1.3
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) - 1.1. (unfortunately I didn't see them)
Painted Dog (aka Cape Hunting Dog) (Lycaon pictus) - I didn't pay attention to them on this trip; the zoo has at least 2.2 adults and a few weeks ago they announced that another litter of 3.3 had been born.
In addition to these, the zoo has 3 or 4 female Ostriches (Struthio camelus), a male Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus), and a pair of East African Crowned Cranes (Balearica regulorum) that are off-exhibit - I assume due to concerns about avian influenza. Also there is a group of Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) that I haven't seen yet, and I've heard that the zoo is going to or has shipped out their Grevy's Zebras (Equus grevyi) and will receive Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) in their place; however, I didn't see any zebras on this trip.
Earlier plans for Expedition Africa (before budget cuts) included an aviary and exhibits for Black Rhinoceros, tortoises, Black-and-White Colobus (Colobus guereza) and Cape Hyrax. It's possible that some of these smaller species may be added in the future, but I don't know if, when, or where.
Total:
Amphibians: 2 species (both seen)
Reptiles: 17 or 18 species (13 of which I saw)
Fish: 18 species (at least 12 of which I saw)
Birds: 6 species (3 of which I saw, but I know the other three are on zoo grounds)
Mammals: 17 to 20 species (12 of which I saw)
Exhibits with 7 African Lions (Pathera leo) and 5 Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are adjacent to Expedition Africa on the east and west sides respectively.
