99% Funded
- 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
The Tulsa Zoo has a successful history of exhibiting and caring for Asian elephants. Driven by our commitment to the species and the individual animals in our care, we developed a plan for expansion and improvements to support a larger, multi-generational Asian elephant herd. Our plans are driven in part by an elephant welfare study and evolving husbandry standards, as well as our desire to care for larger and more varied social groupings. Our vision included indoor and outdoor spaces with maximum flexibility for herd management and care around the clock.
The zoo broke ground on the Oxley Family Elephant Experience and Elephant Preserve on June 22, 2022. When complete, expected in 2024, this reimagined habitat will be one of the largest AZA facilities of its kind in North America and designed for elephants at all stages of life — a true visionary project our community deserves.
We’re adding a 10-acre yard for elephants to roam freely, plus a 36,650-square-foot barn with natural substrate flooring, areas for bathing, as well as dedicated areas for staff and visitors alike.
Extensive renovations at the existing Elephant Interpretive Center will include amenities for guests such as new restrooms to allow for both daytime and afterhours events.
The Oxley Family Elephant Experience and Preserve will allow Tulsa Zoo to accommodate a growing herd for decades to come.
Funded through Vision and private funds, this project will:
- Update existing outdoor exhibit areas and barn
- Add a 36,650 square-foot elephant barn
- Add 10 acres for elephants to roam freely
- Give us the ability to house multiple male elephants
- Add privacy yards for new mothers and calves, as well as geriatric animals
- Add guest amenities