Tulsa Zoo Records Attendance Milestone

The Tulsa Zoo says it has reached an attendance milestone.

The zoo says attendance topped 637,700 guests during its 2014-15 fiscal year which ended on June 30.

Officials say this is the second-highest in the zoo’s 87-year history, just shy of the 669,928 guests who attended the Tulsa Zoo in 1997.  That year, the zoo opened its Tropical American Rainforest. 

The zoo says this record breaking year can attributed to  the opening of the Mary K. Chapman Rhino Reserve and the Zoorassic Park, a temporary dinosaur exhibit. 

“We had an exciting year, which included the opening of the Mary K. Chapman Rhino Reserve, the first exhibit of our 20-year master plan,” says Tulsa Zoo Management, Inc., President and CEO, Terrie Correll. 

“We are grateful to everyone who visited the zoo, and we look forward to another year as we continue to build the world class zoo that our community and animals deserve.”

In addition, the Tulsa Zoo says several significant births also drove guests to the zoo.  The list included the birth of three tiger cubs and a chimpanzee baby. 

Correll says attendance is expected to remain strong as the zoo continues to implement new exhibits such as the Lost Kingdom exhibit complex, which is slated to open in 2017. 
This complex will be home to some of Asia’s most rare and elusive species, including Malayan tigers, snow leopards, red pandas, among other animals.