The OKC Zoo and Botanical Garden sends this information as posted below:
World Primate Day is Saturday, September 6, 2025, at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden with a morning full of activities, enrichment, and games for all ages to enjoy as the Zoo’s Animal Awareness Day series continues.
Grab your troop and swing over to The Great EscApe at the OKC Zoo from 9:30 a.m. to noon for fascinating facts, caretaker chats, and quality time with primates from around the world who call the OKC Zoo home.
“For decades, visitors to the Zoo have fallen in love with our primates, so we’re really excited to shine a spotlight on all of them for World Primate Day,” said OKC Zoo’s Curator of Primates, Shannon Charles-Ray. “Whether they’re watching our troops of Western lowland gorillas interacting, keeping up with Kiazi the chimpanzee’s antics, or visiting the Francois langurs in Sanctuary Asia, we’re so happy to see guests connecting with the primate members of our animal family.”
The Great EscApe will be the event spot for the following activities:
- Caretaker Chats
- Special training session with the bachelor gorilla troop and Q&A
- Enrichment with Togo’s family group at 10:30 a.m.
- Test your primate IQ with activities including “The Need to Nest” and a primate diet and enrichment station.
- Take a Conservation Pledge for primates.
- Plush gorilla adoptions for $25
- The Gorilla Trek VR Experience, located Inside the Great EscApe, will be discounted to $6 per person for one ride or $10 per person for two rides. Pricing is valid from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 6.
In addition to gorillas and chimpanzees, the Zoo’s primate family includes a Sumatran orangutan, black-handed spider monkeys, common squirrel monkeys, red-ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, and Francois langurs.
The Oklahoma City Zoo takes part in and contributes to primate conservation efforts around the globe, including partnerships to study and protect gorillas with Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and purple-faced langurs with the Kaludiyapokuna Primate Conservation and Research Center (KPCRC). Funding for this work comes from the Zoo’s Round for Conservation program, which has provided over $260,000 in support for these organizations.
The Zoo also takes part in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction programs for gorillas and chimpanzees. In 2024, the Zoo contributed more than $50,000 to SAFE programs. Funds raised during this year’s ZOObrew presented by Byron’s Liquor Warehouse, which takes places Friday, September 26, 2025, will also support primate conservation. ZOObrew event tickets will be available on Friday, September 4, and can be purchased at www.ozsgiving.org/zoobrew.
Another way the OKC Zoo helps is through the Gorillas on the Line program, which seeks to recycle coltan, a mineral used in the production of electronic device. Mining for coltan throughout Africa threatens the natural habitats of gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi and other endangered species. Guests receive free daytime general admission into the OKC Zoo when they donate a used phone or other small electronic device like an iPod, iPad, tablet, MP3 player, and handheld gaming system. Already this year, over 1,000 devices have been donated to the Zoo in support of this program thanks to every day conservation heroes committed to making a difference for wildlife and wild places. Answer the call, donate your devices to the Zoo, they will be recycled, with proceeds going to help these species. Learn more at gorillassp.org.
World Primate Day activities are free with regular admission. Can’t make it to World Primate Day? Guests can still connect with primate caretakers at 3:30 p.m. daily at the Great EscApe for caretaker chats.
Visit the OKC Zoo’s Rosser Conservation Education Center on Saturday, September 6, 2025 for the OKC Animal Welfare adoption event. Adoption fees are being waived and all adopted dogs are spayed or neutered, microchipped, dewormed, and current on age-appropriate vaccinations. OKC Zoo admission is not required to attend the adoption events and parking is free.
The Oklahoma City Zoo’s regular daytime hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with the last entry at 4 p.m. Now through Labor Day, Monday, September 1, ZOOfriends members can enter early at 8:30 a.m. to beat the heat. Avoid the entry lines and purchase advance Zoo admission tickets online at okczoo.org/tickets. Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, and Oklahoma City’s Adventure District.
Stay connected with the Zoo on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linktree and TikTok, and by visiting our blog stories. Zoo more with a ZOOfriends membership! As a ZOOfriends member of the Oklahoma City Zoo, enjoy free admission for 12-months, plus additional benefits and discounts. You will also be supporting the Zoo’s animal family, education programming, and conservation initiatives both locally and globally. Join or renew today at www.okczoo.org/membership.
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