So, I convinced my big sister, Tonya, to join me at the Tulsa Zoo on Friday. The convincing part was not because of the Zoo, as my sister loves animals. The convincing part was that it was 95+ degrees outside and such a trip requires miles of walking!

I really enjoyed my day, but I think I prefer the Oklahoma City Zoo. I, personally, was frustrated by the lack of signage, and the poor quality map – which we had to go back and ask for after we discovered you couldn’t get them anywhere but the ticket booth. Because it was so hot, we stopped several times for drinks, and were also frustrated by the number of items that were sold out or missing from the menu at each stop. Many of the food venues and gift shops along the way were closed.  Also, at the Oklahoma City Zoo, the “inside” viewing spaces were well air-conditioned, which helped cool my body down in between forays out into the heat. The buildings at the Tulsa Zoo were air conditioned, but not really “cool”, so you would have had to spend an hour in each space to really cool down. There were also cart vendors selling water, ice cream, etc. all over the OKC Zoo, and we didn’t see any at Tulsa. We quickly learned that when we saw a building selling food or water, we needed to buy what we needed then. When I go back to the Tulsa Zoo, I will make sure it is at a much cooler time of year!

On the plus side, like the OKC Zoo, the Tulsa Zoo allows visitors to bring food in – so we saw families eating picnic lunches in the many open green spaces throughout the Zoo compound. There are also playgrounds around the Zoo to allow little one’s to blow off some steam.

That said, the animals were fabulous. As I experienced with the OKC Zoo, when it is hot, many animals stay in their dens, so we passed quite a few areas without seeing the animals, or with the animals in such heavy shade that I could not photograph them. Those animals that were out, however, were well cared-for and in clean, beautiful, enclosures. Below are photos from my Tulsa Zoo visit. Enjoy!