Tulsa Zoo Spotlights Elephants For Elephant Awareness Month

Asian elephants are in the spotlight at the Tulsa Zoo in August, as facilities nationwide raise awareness for the species.

They hope it'll do something good to preserve them for generations to come.

The elephants in the Lost Kingdom at the Tulsa Zoo are three of the 40,000 left in the world, making them an endangered species.

Zoological Manager Jessica Scallan said there are a few main reasons the Asian elephant population is threatened. She said that includes poaching, habitat loss due to development and agriculture farming in the elephant's habitats.

She said elephants are considered a keystone species meaning they help cultivate their land, in turn helping other species live there.

Sneezy, Sooky and Booper are the Asian elephants at the Tulsa Zoo.

Scallan said the mid-life age of the species is 46 and a half. The elephants at the zoo are all around 50, so she said they're considered geriatric.

There are some differences about Asian elephants. For one, they're smaller in size than African elephants.

Scallan said males weigh 13,000 pounds or less, and females range from 6,000 to 8,000 pounds.

"All month long, we're celebrating the second-largest land mammal in the world. And they need a whole month because they're quite iconic. So, when you're little, you learn ‘E is for Elephant,’ and from there, elephants make a huge impression on your life,” Scallan said.

In June, the Tulsa Zoo broke ground on the Oxley Family Elephant Experience and Elephant Preserve that will be one of the largest facilities of its kind in North America. It’s expected to be completed by 2024.