Oklahoma City Zoo Celebrates Another Record-Breaking Year of Attendance

Last year, the Oklahoma City (OKC) Zoo saw over a million visitors from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. This year, they've seen even more guests, adding up to 1,114,208 people, between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Between new births, celebrations of lives, special and unique events and even a historic event in downtown Oklahoma City, there've been many reasons for people to visit the zoo.

The Oklahoma City Zoo does more for their animals besides care for them. They use their experiences and knowledge from caring for these animals to share information with other scholars in order to help conservation efforts.

Why is the OKC Zoo "the state’s most visited cultural attraction?"

For 123 years, the Oklahoma City Zoo has been caring for an array of animals. This year, guests traveled to see many of the new animals that have made their arrival. 

"A number of animal births over the last few months have also brought in visitors, both old and new," they said in their recent press release. "Most recently, the Zoo celebrated the birth of its first male Asian elephant, Xerxes, which establishes three generations of Asian elephants for the OKC Zoo’s herd."

@okczoo The anticipation has been building for 22 months and boy, oh boy do we have some exciting news! We are thrilled to announce the arrival of the Zoo's first male Asian elephant calf, Xerxes (ZURK-seez), born to first-time parents Achara and Bowie! Achara's calf was born on Tuesday, June 17 inside the elephant barn in the early hours of the morning. Weighing a whopping 275 pounds, Xerxes is the fifth elephant calf born at the OKC Zoo and making the Zoo home to three generations of elephants. Xerxes' name is Greek for "ruler of heroes" and was chosen by our amazing elephant caretakers! “We couldn’t be happier for Achara and are thrilled to welcome Xerxes to our elephant family,” said Rachel Boyd, OKC Zoo’s Elephant Curator. “Based on the nurturing behaviors she showed toward her younger sisters, we had every reason to believe Achara would make a wonderful mother. Watching her care for her own calf is incredibly rewarding. She’s stepped into this role with confidence and is doing an outstanding job.” Achara, little Xerxes, and the rest of our herd are spending time bonding and getting to know each other. Guests who visit the Zoo may have an opportunity to see him at Sanctuary Asia as the family has access to the sand stall in the elephant barn. You can already join in the celebration for this little guy! Elephant fans have exclusive opportunities to provide TONS of support to our herd with limited-edition elephant herd t-shirts with designs inspired by our herd members, original artwork created by our elephants, and so much more. Your donations will provide support to Asian elephant conservation, care, and enrichment so join in the celebration to welcome Xerxes and head to bit.ly/WelcomeXerxes and show your support! #okczoo #asianelephant #newbaby #babyelephant #animals #conservation #babyboom #firsttimemom #newestaddition ♬ original sound - okczoo

"Nearly 40 percent of all Zoo visits during the fiscal year were discounted or free."

Baby animals are usually a big crowd-pleaser, but being able to offer this experience for free also allows even those in less fortunate circumstances to join in.

Thanks to programs including year-round discounts for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Fosters, active, retired, veteran members of U.S. Military, and Oklahoma EBT/SNAP and WIC and Oklahoma Tribal WIC programs, many who may have never been able to visit before were able to. 

The Zoo has also offered free tickets to those who donate blood with local Oklahoma Blood Institutes, another opportunity to make the experience free for those who participate.

"OKC Zoo’s international reputation as a leader in wildlife conservation and science is ascending."

The OKC Zoo has also seen some major progress with research this year, publishing several pieces of peer-reviewed research for the public and other wildlife researchers to learn from. Many of their pieces of work have aligned with several of the events they've held this summer.

Speaking of events, the OKC Zoo has every intention of bringing back the popular events they've held annually each fall and winter, including:

• ZOObrew, the Zoo’s 21-and-up beer, wine, spirits, and mocktails-tasting event on Friday, September 26
• The 42nd annual Haunt the Zoo presented by Oklahoma’s Own News 9 occurring Saturdays and Sundays, October 4 through 26
• OKC ZOO SAFARI LIGHTS presented by OG&E lights up the holiday season beginning Saturday, November 15.

Tickets for many of these events are limited and already on sale at www.okczoo.org.