79% Funded
- Raised to Date: $24,700,000
- Project Timeline: Broke ground June 22, 2022; open new barn in 2023 and Oxley Family Elephant Experience in 2024.
- Architects: Selser Schaefer Architects and WDM Architects
- Construction Management Services: Nabholz Corporation
A new multi-acre facility that will enable the zoo to house additional elephants and to meet the evolving high standards of care and management for elephants required by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Upon completion of this new state-of-the-art facility, it will be one of the largest in of its kind.
The Tulsa Zoo has a successful history exhibiting and caring for Asian elephants. Our commitment to the species and the individual animals in our care includes a planned expansion and improvements to our existing habitat, to allow for a larger, multi-generational herd.
Our plans are driven in part by an elephant welfare study, as well as evolving husbandry standards, to provide additional acreage for larger and more varied the social groupings of elephants. This includes outdoor and indoor spaces, with maximum flexibility for herd management and care during the day and during the night.
The Lost Kingdom Elephant exhibit will re-imagine our current space and allow our visitors to see the elephants both indoors and out, providing an opportunity to learn about the importance of elephants in their rich and diverse zoo environment.
Enhanced indoor facilities and significantly expanded outdoor spaces will allow the Tulsa Zoo to accommodate a growing multi-generational herd of elephants for decades to come.
Funded through Vision and private funds, this project will:
- Update existing outdoor exhibit areas and the barn
- Add guest amenities
- Add a 36,650+ square-foot elephant building with 13 acres of new outdoor habitats to accommodate a larger, multi-generational herd
- Give us the ability to house multiple male elephants
- Add privacy yards for new mothers and calves, as well as geriatric animals