Oklahoma City Zoo Oklahoma City Zoo News
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Seems like a good list, but god Eland are an uninspired choiceAlso see that pygmy hippo and rhino are no longer included in the plans.
The loss of the pygmy hippo is a bummer for sure, but I’m sympathetic. This started as a $22.5 million project, but even with the cuts actual low bid is over $27 million. I think we may still eventually see the white rhinos. If you read the master plan, the white rhinos are listed as a part of “The Preserve” rather than Africa. It states that the focus for The Preserve will be breeding cheetah, okapi, and white rhino. There is already breeding of okapi taking place and breeding facilities for cheetah (separate from the cheetah habitat in Africa) are under construction. After the zebra, ostrich, gazelles, etc. are moved into the Africa area, there is space to combine all of their current habitats and renovate them into a rhino habitat. I don’t know that’s what will happen, but there will certainly be a large space to work with.
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From the zoo’s Facebook:
The OKC Zoo is proud to announce that three of its expert team members authored an article published in Animal Cognition, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, that highlights how Asian elephants can differentiate quantity by sound.
The article was written by Rebecca J. Snyder, OKC Zoo’s director of conservation and science; Lisa P. Barrett, OKC Zoo’s postdoctoral fellow; Rachel A. Emory, OKC Zoo’s curator of elephants and rhinos and Bonnie M. Perdue at Agnes Scott College.
New research in Animal Cognition shows that Asian elephants, like African savanna elephants, can choose a greater quantity by using auditory cues. The authors of the paper tested this research on two of the Zoo’s Asian elephants; females, Asha, 26, and Chandra, 24, with assistance from the Zoo’s elephant care team.
Asian elephants are known to be able to distinguish quantity by using vision, and they have even been shown to discriminate quantity by using smell alone. More recently, African elephants passed the test using their auditory sense—by hearing each piece of food dropped into a barrel they could determine which barrel contained more food.
Read the full article at Performance of Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus) on a quantity discrimination task is similar to that of African savanna elephants ( Loxodonta africana)
The OKC Zoo is proud to announce that three of its expert team members authored an article published in Animal Cognition, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, that highlights how Asian elephants can differentiate quantity by sound.
The article was written by Rebecca J. Snyder, OKC Zoo’s director of conservation and science; Lisa P. Barrett, OKC Zoo’s postdoctoral fellow; Rachel A. Emory, OKC Zoo’s curator of elephants and rhinos and Bonnie M. Perdue at Agnes Scott College.
New research in Animal Cognition shows that Asian elephants, like African savanna elephants, can choose a greater quantity by using auditory cues. The authors of the paper tested this research on two of the Zoo’s Asian elephants; females, Asha, 26, and Chandra, 24, with assistance from the Zoo’s elephant care team.
Asian elephants are known to be able to distinguish quantity by using vision, and they have even been shown to discriminate quantity by using smell alone. More recently, African elephants passed the test using their auditory sense—by hearing each piece of food dropped into a barrel they could determine which barrel contained more food.
Read the full article at Performance of Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus) on a quantity discrimination task is similar to that of African savanna elephants ( Loxodonta africana)
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I think there is more a need for solitary black rhino exhibits across city zoos versus the more herdy whites.
During their annual checkups this week, the zoo’s grizzly bears and black bears were fitted with smart collars for a study in collaboration with Mississippi State University. They will use accelerometry to study captive bear health over a period of 18 weeks. This was shared by multiple local news outlets as a part of a story about the annual exams. (See link below for one example.) Over the last couple of years, the zoo has done a much better job of sharing this kind of information, and I’m thankful that local media is cooperative.
Grizzly bear brothers get first public checkup at Oklahoma City Zoo
Grizzly bear brothers get first public checkup at Oklahoma City Zoo
Some updates from this week’s visit:
- In the children’s zoo, the red and green macaws have been moved in with the blue and yellow macaws. The previous home for the red and greens now holds three of the critically endangered red-fronted macaws. (I believe these were previously in the Island life building, which is being demolished for the new Africa area.)
- The trumpeter swans have been moved out of the waterfowl pond, which will also be removed for Africa.They have joined the white-tailed deer habitat in the Oklahoma Trail.
- The white storks have moved out of Raptor Ridge and into one of the lakeside habitats. The white-necked ravens have returned to Raptor Ridge.
- Texas tortoise has now been added to the Oklahoma Trail. (Ironic.)
- The herpetarium added a pair of frilled lizards.
- The new Monarch Flyway zip line over Zoo Lake is complete but not yet open to the public.
Chimpanzees Zoe, 13, and Siri, 10, have moved to ABQ Biopark Zoo in accordance with SSP breeding recommendations. There are six remaining members of the chimpanzee group in OKC.
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Looking over the packet for today’s trust meeting, there are two items of note.
1. The zoo is now participating in a breeding program for Addra gazelles. They have held the species for several years, but to my knowledge they have only kept males until this point.
2. The new cheetah and wild dog habitats should be completed by the end of June. (I’m excited to see cheetahs return.)
1. The zoo is now participating in a breeding program for Addra gazelles. They have held the species for several years, but to my knowledge they have only kept males until this point.
2. The new cheetah and wild dog habitats should be completed by the end of June. (I’m excited to see cheetahs return.)
Really looking forward to cheetahs returning!
Ellie the 20 year old giraffe gave birth to a healthy male calf yesterday, this is her 6th calf! The father is 4 year old Demetri.
OKC ZOO ANNOUNCES BIRTH OF ENDANGERED GIRAFFE CALF
OKC ZOO ANNOUNCES BIRTH OF ENDANGERED GIRAFFE CALF
Today, the zoo announced the arrival of three more Addra gazelles as they move toward the aforementioned efforts to breed the species.
According to a news release, the Oklahoma City Zoo, “is excited to celebrate the births of three Eastern massasauga rattlesnake snakelets, a federally protected species, and four threatened black tree monitor hatchlings. This is the Zoo’s first-ever successful breeding of Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes and birth of black tree monitors in several years.”
Bat-eared Foxes have made a return to the zoo’s collection. A 1.1 pair has arrived from the Wildcare Foundation after coming from the private trade originally. They are apparently now housed next to the swift foxes: Bat-eared foxes join Oklahoma City Zoo family
OKLAHOMA CITY ZOO ELEPHANT: OKC Zoo's 2-year-old Asian elephant Kairavi tests positive for EEHV
A 2 year old Asian Elephant has tested positive for EEHV
A 2 year old Asian Elephant has tested positive for EEHV
A potpourri of updates.
1. It has been “so far, so good” for 2-year-old elephant, Kai in overcoming EEHV. According to the zoo’s Facebook post, she has still not shown any clinical signs from the virus. She’s not out of the woods yet, but things are hopeful. If she makes it through this, a huge factor will have been the zoo’s investment in the ability to analyze blood tests for EEHV on site. When Malee died from the virus a few years ago, they were having to send samples to another lab and wait for results. Early detection has been key for Kai.
2. The zoo posted a new video about Expedition Africa. One notable item is the mention of wildebeest in one of the savannah habitats. That’s the first time I’ve heard this species mentioned.
3. The video also highlights other recent construction projects, referring to the new African painted dog and cheetah habitats as “Predator Pass.” This was scheduled for summer completion, but the project is behind. It should be open by Labor Day.
4. Recent social media posts highlighted African bullfrogs and African spurred tortoises currently held behind the scenes. It’s clear the zoo is building its African collection during construction.
5. Speaking of construction, I am very excited for Expedition Africa…but things sure are a mess right now. There are many dead end paths and closed exhibits. I totally understand, but I’m not sure the general public does. I’m glad they’re starting to market the new project so that more people are aware of what’s to come.
1. It has been “so far, so good” for 2-year-old elephant, Kai in overcoming EEHV. According to the zoo’s Facebook post, she has still not shown any clinical signs from the virus. She’s not out of the woods yet, but things are hopeful. If she makes it through this, a huge factor will have been the zoo’s investment in the ability to analyze blood tests for EEHV on site. When Malee died from the virus a few years ago, they were having to send samples to another lab and wait for results. Early detection has been key for Kai.
2. The zoo posted a new video about Expedition Africa. One notable item is the mention of wildebeest in one of the savannah habitats. That’s the first time I’ve heard this species mentioned.
3. The video also highlights other recent construction projects, referring to the new African painted dog and cheetah habitats as “Predator Pass.” This was scheduled for summer completion, but the project is behind. It should be open by Labor Day.
4. Recent social media posts highlighted African bullfrogs and African spurred tortoises currently held behind the scenes. It’s clear the zoo is building its African collection during construction.
5. Speaking of construction, I am very excited for Expedition Africa…but things sure are a mess right now. There are many dead end paths and closed exhibits. I totally understand, but I’m not sure the general public does. I’m glad they’re starting to market the new project so that more people are aware of what’s to come.
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According to the zoo’s Facebook Live, Kairavi (the Asian elephant calf who tested positive for EEHV) is doing much better. Though the virus is still circulating in her blood, her blood cell counts are starting to go up and she’s starting to make a full recovery! 
On August 6, a clouded leopard cub was born! This is the first birth for parents, JD and Rukai.
A spotted turtle has hatched. This is the first time OKC has hatched this endangered species.
Two quick updates:
1. A successful breeding effort resulted in six new, critically-endangered, Kaiser-spotted newts. Two of the six are currently on exhibit in the herpetarium.
2. An earlier update by @WhistlingKite24 mentioned the rescued bat-eared foxes coming to the zoo. A local news article states that the same rescue effort also brought two African bullfrogs and three radiated tortoises to the zoo. There were over 300 animals seized from a local farm with eight going to the OKC zoo. I thought the article did a nice job of explaining why zoos rarely take in such rescues and the zoo’s commitment to prevent breeding among these animals with unknown genetics.
1. A successful breeding effort resulted in six new, critically-endangered, Kaiser-spotted newts. Two of the six are currently on exhibit in the herpetarium.
2. An earlier update by @WhistlingKite24 mentioned the rescued bat-eared foxes coming to the zoo. A local news article states that the same rescue effort also brought two African bullfrogs and three radiated tortoises to the zoo. There were over 300 animals seized from a local farm with eight going to the OKC zoo. I thought the article did a nice job of explaining why zoos rarely take in such rescues and the zoo’s commitment to prevent breeding among these animals with unknown genetics.
Another giraffe calf was born, bringing the tower to six.