Oklahoma City Zoo Oklahoma City Zoo News 2025

Other Early-Late 2025 News Not Mentioned:

On August 27th, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred (0.2) African wild dogs Sonnett and Xavi to Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida*.

On September 2nd, it was reported that due to high costs, the zoo scaled back the development of a "Shore to Sea" area, axxing sea lions to focus on a new exhibit for African penguins (to open sometime in 2027). It was also reported that the zoo will open a new exhibit for rays sometime in 2027.

Is OKC Zoo still getting a penguin exhibit? Here's the latest on the project

On September 8th, it was announced that the zoo transferred (3.0) African wild dogs Slash, Spot, and Tex to Wildlife Safari in Oregon.

1.4K reactions · 117 shares | Meet the Pack Tex, Slash and Spot are the newest members of Wildlife Safari! They may look like wild works of art with their colorful coats, but they're more than just pretty faces. African Painted Dogs are highly social, caring and one of the best examples of teamwork in the animal kingdom. Come take a drive through our 600-acre park and meet the pack! . . . #zoo #oregon #wildlifesafari #southernoregon #winston #africanpainteddog #wilddogs #animal #animalkingdom | Wildlife Safari

On October 7th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a male (1.0) ocelot named Cusco to The Texas Zoo in Texas.

The Texas Zoo

On October 9th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a female (0.1) African wild dog named Yaya to Audubon Zoo in Louisiana.

Audubon Zoo

On October 30th, the zoo announced they acquired (0.2) clouded leopards named Faith and Hope from Nashville Zoo in Tennessee, which are now on display in Cat Forest.

Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden

* Information sourced from @Austin the Sengi in North American African Wild Dog Population thread (Page 3 Post #47).
 
I visited the Oklahoma City Zoo on November 7th and posted a few photos. A pair of Wattled Cranes (Grus (Bugeranus) carunculatus) are now visible in a holding pen next to the Giraffe exhibit and my assumption is that they will be released soon into the large mixed-species yard with the Giraffes, Nile Lechwe, Common Eland, and Ostrich. The OKC Zoo has kept this species off and on since the early 1980s and even had some breeding success in the 80s, but until now that species had been absent from the Zoo since about 2015 so I'm glad to see it back.

I saw the female Okapi calf, male Plains Zebra foal, female Giraffe calf, the baby Francois' Langur, and a couple of the Dwarf Mongoose kits that were born this summer. The Chilean Flamingos, Caribbean Flamingos, Southern Screamers, Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes, and Wild Turkeys had been pulled indoors as a precaution because of some recent avian influenza cases in the region; each of these species lives in an open-top exhibit with a pool so they were at greater risk of exposure from wild waterfowl. The White-crested Laughingthrushes were back on exhibit (they had spent the summer in an off-exhibit breeding area but I don't think their nesting attempt was successful). A keeper told me that the Zoo recently acquired a pair of White-headed Buffalo-Weavers (Dinemellia dinemelli) that are now in an off-exhibit breeding space; this is a returning species that has been absent since around 2022. The pair of Hyacinth Macaws had been moved into their off-exhibit area for the winter. In the Dan Moran Aviary, I saw the Red-crested Turaco chicks with their parents and they look almost fully grown.

Last October, Desert Tortoise posted and excellent species list for the zoo and there have been very few changes in the past year other than the two bird species listed above and a few new or returning species in the Herpetarium. South American Bird Poop Treefrogs (Dendropsophus marmoratus) have been added to the poison dart frog exhibit; I believe this is a new species for the Zoo. Madagascar Giant Day Geckos (Phlesuma madagascariensis or P. grandis) have been added to the Henkel's Leaf-tailed Gecko exhibit; this is a returning species after about a 30-year absence. White-lined Geckos (Gekko vittatus) have been added to the Prehensile-tailed Skink exhibit; I believe this is a new species for the Zoo. There also was an exhibit that I believe is new for Zaire Dwarf Clawed Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri). Elsewhere in the Zoo, the Burmese Star Tortoises, Indian Star Tortoises, and Ploughshare Tortoises had all been moved inside for the winter, but the Asian Brown Tortoises were still outdoors in Sanctuary Asia.
 
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