OKC Zoo staff, visitors roll with Winter weather challenges

-- The Winter slowdown allows prep for busy spring crowds and care of newborns.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The bears are hibernating, the Safari Lights have come down, and the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is deep into their winter season now, weathering the cold months with new babies and new animal additions.

Yes, even when the winter season hits and the temperatures drop, the Zoo is still open to the public, with the animals lounging around comfortably on heated rocks and in cozy indoor areas enjoying the days of lighter activity and laziness.

But that’s only the animals.

Zoo staff spends the early months of the year fervently watching weather forecasts, protecting animals from temperature changes, acclimating new animal residents to the park and their new extended families while attendance is low, and most importantly, gearing up for the spring.

“Sometimes, the best time to see the animals is the winter,” Zoo Public Relations Specialist Greg Elwell told Free Press. “A lot of them are actually more active and really want to be out just because it’s not so hot.”

Weather watchers

Of course, with Oklahoma weather as unpredictable as it is, the winter months can call for some last-minute changes and rearrangements when temperatures start to drop.

“The weather is at the forefront of every day for us in the winter,” said Candice Rennels, the Zoo’s Director of Public Relations. “Our security team and all the animal teams monitor the forecast closely and they all have policies in place for if the animals need shelter.”

Snow is usually fine (and many of the animals actually love it) but ice and sub-zero temperatures can create real danger, so each animal team will adhere to their own plans and policies for when to keep the animal residents indoors.

Some species, however, adhere to the policies of nature.

“Our bears, for example, the grizzlies and black bears especially, they naturally hibernate during this season, so the guests won’t see them,” Rennels explained. “And the same goes for several of our turtle species. They’re in brumation, which is their form of hibernation. So they’re all hunkered down for the winter and won’t be seen.”

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An OKC Zoo Galapagos Hatchling gets exercise in warmer months, but is now in “brumation” during winter. (photo by Rae K., provided by OKC Zoo)

Luckily, guests no longer have to just roll the dice on what animals they’ll be seeing if they show up on a winter’s day.

“We recently just rolled out a new interactive map feature on our website called Smart Parks,” Elwell said. “It lets guests see what’s open and what animals are out in real time every day, so that’s another way we’re making it easier and more accessible for people, because no one wants to come out here and be disappointed.”

Warm welcomes

Even in the dead of winter, though, the biggest draw at the zoo will always be the babies.

“Some of the youngsters around here are starting to get big, but they’re still young,” Rennels said.

2024 saw a handful of highly anticipated and publicized births at the OKC Zoo, including Fera, the François langur – whose bright red fur has now fully transitioned to a deep black to match her parents – and the group of lion cubs born back in May of last year.

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Lion Pumpkin Enrichment. (Photo by Andrea J, provided by the Oklahoma City Zoo.)

“The cubs are getting huge, actually, but they’re still cubs for the first two years,” Rennels said. “They’re doing great. They’re fully integrated with the pride now, so they spend lots of time with mom and dad and their aunt and they’ve even participated in few carcass feedings.”

Most recently, the zebra foal Aurora was born at the Zoo in November, and immediately began showing her energy.

“Aurora really hit the ground running,” said Elwell. “And that’s amazing, because zebras haven’t even been back at the OKC Zoo for very long. So that’s been really exciting.”

Zebra foal Auroa (Photo by Andrea J, provided)

Of course, not all the recent zoo babies are hitting their growth spurts so quickly.

“We have our Galapagos tortoise hatchlings,” Elwell said, “and they’ll actually take fifteen years just to reach the size of a football. So they’re going to be small for a really long time.”

Next up, everyone is excited for the impending July birth of a new Asian elephant, another big win for the endangered species.

And there have also been some welcome new arrivals besides all the recent births as well, including Mohan, the African rhino that joined the zoo in September. And there are also two new big cats, an ocelot and a caracal, both of whom have been off public view while the zoo’s Cat Forest gets overhauled.

Here comes the sun

While the Zoo’s animal population uses this winter period of lower crowds and extended indoor time to acclimate the new babies and residents to their home, the Zoo itself is preparing for a flood of human children in the spring.

“We have our spring break camp coming up for the kiddos,” Rennels said. “That’s a very popular education camp. It’s a whole week long and it tends to fill up really fast, so registration is open for that right now.”

The Zoo is also coming up on their first full year of offering full-day preschool services with their Nature Explorers Preschool, a fully accredited preschool program for young children.

And while the winter months don’t see many new outdoor events or activities, the indoor “ZooZeum” is unveiling a new temporary exhibit this week showcasing the work of the OKC Zoo’s volunteer photography team, many of which adorn the pages of our stories about the Zoo in Free Press.

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The OKC Zoo’s Asian Elephant family (photo by Andrea J., provided by the Oklahoma City Zoo.)

“It’s our way to really show our appreciation for these people that volunteer their time to come out here and get these photos for us,” Elwell said. “It’s remarkable, they come out here in all weather – sometimes the worst weather – and they get these really amazing shots.”

And if you’d also like to come out in all weather, you can.

Though the Zoo does implement “winter hours,” closing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the season, you can expect them to keep the gates open during regular hours even in the cold and the snow.

“We really only close if there’s a danger of things like ice and if the walkways are dangerous or impassable,” Rennels explained. “Otherwise, we just say ‘bundle up and come on out.’ We’re here and the animals are out here and they’re warm and comfortable and cared for. They don’t all just go to Florida for the winter.”


Author Profile

Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.