Join ZooFriends at the Oklahoma City Barons hockey game on February 18 at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $14, $21, $26 and $36. For each ticket sold, $4 will be donated back to the Zoo and for every ticket purchased you will be automatically entered in a raffle to win a seat in the penalty box to watch the Barons warm-up or a chance to ride the Zamboni during intermission. All tickets will be held at will call and can be picked up at the Barons will call office the night of the game. Tickets must be purchased through the ZooFriends membership office by contacting 405-425-0618 or online.

Duane Andrews of Kingfisher, OK started the campaign which brought Judy the elephant to Oklahoma City. His check for $16.73 was the first donation made and many others followed. School children also participated by collecting their coins. Within two weeks of the campaign starting the funds had been raised to bring Judy to Oklahoma City. Approximately 50,000 donors participated in the campaign and raised the $4,500 needed to purchase the new elephant and on May 21, 1949 Judy made her debut in Oklahoma City. Judy lived at the Zoo until her passing in 1998.

Currently the Zoo is home to three female Asian elephants: Asha, Chandra and Asha’s calf, Malee, but a new male elephant will soon be joining our girls! Rex, an Asian bull elephant, will be coming to the Zoo from Canada. “We are very excited about Rex’s approaching arrival, said Dwight Scott, Oklahoma City Zoo Executive Director/CEO. “We have been working with the Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan (SSP) to find a compatible bull to breed with our adult female elephants and Rex was recommended. In time we hope to see our herd grow.”

Pack your trunk! Elephant expenses are quite large, as you can imagine. Transportation costs could run as high as $10,000.00 to bring Rex to the Zoo so we need help from you! The Oklahoma Zoological Society (OZS) and Bank of Oklahoma will be working together to raise money to transport Rex from Canada to Oklahoma City. Rex has a long trek to cover – over 1,500 miles. His exact arrival date has yet to be determined. Bank of Oklahoma will be accepting donations November 16 through December 7, to help bring Rex to Oklahoma City. Donations will be accepted at all metro area Bank of Oklahoma branches. However, coin donations cannot be taken at grocery store branches, only checks and bills.

Westwood Elementary in Oklahoma City is excited about helping support Rex’s Trek.  Area schools are encouraged to get involved for great prizes, fun field trips and being able to say “I supported Rex’s Trek!”

Special “Rex’s Trek” collection bags can be picked up at Bank of Oklahoma Branches or the ZooFriends membership office located at the Zoo beginning November 17. The ZooFriends membership office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You may also drop off donations at the membership office.  For further information please call OZS at 405-425-0612.

For the past 28 years, zoo enthusiasts of all ages have submitted an array of photographs that capture a glimpse of any of the 2,000 animals and thousands of plant species at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

“Every year we receive photos which represent the unique diversity of the Oklahoma City Zoo,” said Dana McCrory, Executive Director for the Oklahoma Zoological Society. “This year was especially difficult for our judges as the photos were some of the best we’ve received.”

More than 150 participants entered over 400 photographs for this year’s contest. Each category claimed a first place winner and honorable mention winners. This year’s judges included OKC Zoo Curator, Darcy Henthorn; OKC Zoo Assistant Director, Alan Varsik; graphic designer, Sean Pruitt; and Executive Director of the International Photography Hall of Fame, Michael Scalf, Sr.

The Monarch on Flower captured the Best in Show award, which has earned it the 2012 ZooFriends calendar front cover placement.  

Winners were announced at a reception at the Rosser Conservation Education Center at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

Best in Show: Richard Even (Norman)

Youth Categories winners include the following.

Youth I (through 8 years old): (First Place) Ruby Fried (Norman); (Honorable Mention) Mercy Forbes

Youth II (9 – 12 years old): (First Place) Anna Czajkowski (Oklahoma City); (Honorable Mention) Allison Crampton, Jack Kaiser

Youth III (13 – 18 years old): (First Place) Josh Kouri (Oklahoma City); (Honorable Mention) Bess Bookout

Adult Categories winners include the following.

Aquarium/Amphibian/Reptiles: (First Place) Imran Azhar (Oklahoma City); (Honorable Mention) Kara Adams

Birds: (First Place) Mindy Hellwege (Oklahoma City); (Honorable Mention) Mark Henke

Landscape: (First Place) Ida Fryhover (Goldsby); (Honorable Mention) George Williams

Mammals/Carnivores: (First Place) Ed Travis (Oklahoma City); (Honorable Mention) Imran Azhar

Mammals/Herbivores: (First Place) Leah Gaiser (Mustang); (Honorable Mention) Joel Lare

The winning photos my be viewed online or on the ZooFriends Facebook page.

ZooFriends members receive the colorful calendar featuring the winners of the photo contest as a benefit of membership to the Oklahoma Zoological Society. Calendars also will be available beginning in November for $11 online at www.zoofriends.org or in the Zoofriends office in the front plaza of the Zoo for $10.

ZooFriends annual memberships starting at $50 may be purchased on Zoo grounds, online or by phone. Proceeds benefit the Oklahoma City Zoo and its programs in education, conservation, zoological research, and recreation. Donations made to The Oklahoma Zoological Society are tax-deductible.

The kits, four males and one female, were born on May 4 in their den on Wild Dog Drive. This was the first offspring for both of their parents and the first litter of bat-eared foxes born at the Zoo since 2005. The kits weigh approximately one to two pounds each.

Bat-eared foxes are primarily nocturnal and the kits are still spending the majority of their time inside the den and out of sight. Lucky Zoo visitors might catch them scurrying about their yard in the early morning or late evening hours as they start to get older and more active. Their preferred hangout is the back area of their habitat along the fence.           

Bat-eared foxes live in the dry savannas and brush of eastern and southern Africa and are easily recognized by their huge 5-inch ears. These large lobes serve multiple purposes – they are full of blood vessels that help disperse heat and keep the fox cool, and they give them acute hearing for listening for their primary diet of insects. They can even hear the underground movement of a termite or beetle larvae!

Bat-eared foxes can grow to be about 2 feet long and can weigh anywhere from six to 12 pounds. They are a sandy brown color with darker markings on their ears, nose, feet and tails. Their feet have claws perfectly suited for digging, whether going after a tasty insect or hollowing out a cozy burrow.          

Fun fox fact: Did you know that a male fox is called a “dog,” a female is called a “vixen” and a baby is called a “kit”? Bat-eared foxes live in closely-knit family groups made up of two to five individuals.