100% Funded
Raised to Date: $20,000,000 through Vision Tulsa
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 in the Northern Hemisphere.
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.
We’ve completed renovations to the existing barn to add softer substrates for maintaining appropriate joint and foot health.
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.
Our plan is to create a multi-acre facility – one of the largest of its kind in the United States and one of the world’s largest in a zoo.
Five million of the Vision funds will be used to update existing outdoor exhibit areas and the barn, increase the amphitheater size for educational presentations, and additional guest amenities.
Fifteen million will be used to construct a 15,000-square-foot elephant building with expansive outdoor habitats to accommodate a larger, multi-generational herd, give us the ability to house multiple male elephants, and add privacy yards for new mothers and calves, as well as geriatric animals.