Imagine a deep, misty jungle with climbing structures that both our zoo guests and the animals will enjoy, with unique up-close encounters of both species.
The new African Forest will provide a new-to-the-zoo species, gorillas, plus a new home for our chimpanzee troop.
Chimpanzees arrived at the Tulsa Zoo in 1950. The current facility for these amazing apes took shape in 1978. Tulsa Zoo is one of only two AZA-facilities using a water moat to aid in containment of chimpanzees. This feature is no longer consistent with modern zoological practices for animal safety and will limit opportunities to receive new chimpanzees from AZA institutions and the Species Survival Plan.
The planned African Apes facility will complete this zoogeographic African section of the zoo while providing state-of-the-art facilities for our great apes. This impressive exhibit will be themed as the wild forests of Africa – lush, wild and welcoming – and serve as an icon for the Tulsa Zoo. Multiple housing situations and stimulating environments for both of these highly social apes will mesh with amazing opportunities for our guests to feel they are truly part of their tightly bonded groups.
As mentioned before, gorillas are a new species for the Tulsa Zoo and we anticipate this exhibit will be a large economic driver for both the zoo and the City of Tulsa.