The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens Announces Its Newest Extension- The Oklahoma Trails

In this article I will take you on my personal experience through the trails, give you a pictorial tour. I will also tell you about the history of this extraordinary event, and the sheer patience the Zoo had to have to make this project a reality.

Three years ago, The Oklahoma City Zoo had a dream! That dream was to have humans and animals interact together in a more natural setting for both the animals and humans, and to have more of an up close and personal look at the wildlife we are compelled to protect. They also had a dream of getting Oklahomans (and non-Oklahomans for that matter) in touch with the indigenous animals that make this state unique from the rest. But it was going to take a lot of effort, a lot of planning and above all, a lot of money.

The Oklahoma City Zoo placed a bid to the Oklahoma City Zoological Trust for 6.2 Million dollars in 2003, which was approved. The trails were originally going to be 4.2 acres, and were expected to be less than 12 months to build. But as with any masterpiece, the rough draft is never the final draft. After the stress of complicated construction, higher than expected material fees, and re-thinking the design due to 600 old growth trees (trees that were untouched by unnatural causes, also known as virgin forests), the project was finalized to cost a little over 10 million dollars.

After a lot of re-organization, the final draft was put into play. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in June 2004. Instead of taxpayers getting a 4.2 acre trail, they receive a whopping 8 acres of trails with over 800 animals consisting of endangered wildlife; all which are Oklahoma native, and 4 new main exhibit buildings to house these awesome animals in; all for 1/8 of a cent sales tax approved by Oklahoma City citizens back in 1990.

As you enter the Trails, you are guided by beautifully crafted log wooden railings and concrete trails.

Near the center of the trails are 2 beautiful waterfall displays that captivate your eyes immediately.

The first Main exhibit is of the cougars. Most of the cougars were lying peacefully under tree trunks, but one cougar was extremely restless, so I snapped a great shot of her as she paces.

As you travel past the cougars, you come to the Wild Turkeys and the Mexican Wolf exhibits. The beautiful plumage of the male turkeys was surely a sight to behold.
The Mexican wolves are truly some of most beautiful canines I have ever seen. Their milky white eyes pierce mine as he looks out onto my face.
The Wild turkeys and the Mexican Wolf exhibits are side by side.

One of the most unique exhibits they created is the "Nocturnal" exhibit. It looks like a barn from the outside, and beautifully decorated with farm equipment donated by volunteers and others from all around Oklahoma. It is home to about 30 species of "creatures of the night" including bats, owls, scorpions and skunks.

Next you come up on a bird sanctuary, filled with Road runners, a very hyper Blue Jay (who I am told is an escape artist,) and Grouse just to name just a few. Most of the bird species were able to run free about your feet . Happily, I seen the Turkey vultures were safely locked in cage.

As you leave the Bird sanctuary, you come to a building dedicated to Oklahomans who made animal preservation a priority and their life's work. As you enter, you see the pictures on the wall of all the men and women who dedicated their lives to provide us with the opportunity to see what their life's work purchased.

As you wind down the trail, you come onto the exhibit called Big Rivers. Big Rivers has a beautiful 12-15 foot waterfall greeting you as you enter. When you enter The Big Rivers Exhibit building, the very first awe inspiring attraction that you cannot miss is the 12 foot by 36 foot convex aquarium that stretches across the entire wall of the building. It includes 4 different types of bass, a couple catfish, alligator gar galore, and perch again, just to name a few. I tried taking a picture of this awesome aquarium, unfortunately, the glare was something that couldn't be remedied. All together there are approximately 10-15 species of fish in the massive aquarium. They also have small aquariums of soft and hard shell turtles, frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes. Again, all species exhibited are or were indigenous to Oklahoma.

As you walk over beautifully crafted wooden platforms, you are overlooking crocodiles either basking in the sun, or taking a dip in the pond.

As your trip ends on this "wild adventure" you are treated to our Nation's national symbol- The Bald Eagle. I have never seen one of these majestic creatures up close, and as far as I know, they did not announce that a Bald Eagle was to be a part of the exhibit, so this is by far the best surprise I and many others received on this amazing trail. I am definitely looking forward to my next trip back to the Oklahoma Trails. It's one of those places where you get a different experience every time you walk it, although I am sure that I will never forget my first experience any time soon.