Enjoy gourds of fun and watch as Zoo animals go wild for pumpkin treats!

 

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is celebrating the fall season by hosting its annual Chomp and Stomp, Autumn Animal Enrichment Event for select OKC Zoo animals on Friday, October 15. Come out and watch as your favorite animals enjoy plentiful pumpkins as part of the Zoo’s ongoing animal enrichment program, designed to stimulate their senses and encourage natural behaviors.

The focus for this year’s Chomp and Stomp enrichment event is foraging. This focus, along with the festive theme, “Autumn Harvest – Eat, Drink and Be Scary,” will be the inspiration for Zoo caretakers as they put their creative talents to the test carving, slicing and dicing pumpkins and other seasonal fruits and vegetables into edible creations for the animals to discover. This event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free to attend with Zoo admission. The Chomp and Stomp schedule is as follow:

CHOMP AND STOMP ENRICHMENT SCHEDULE

10:00 a.m.          Chimpanzees (Great EscApe)

10:30 a.m.          Grizzly Bears and Big Rivers Aquarium (Oklahoma Trails)

11:00 a.m.          Bison (Oklahoma Trails)

11:30 a.m.          Galapagos Tortoises (Children’s Zoo)

BREAK

12:45 p.m.          Raptor Ridge Animals

1:30 p.m.            African Lions (Lion Overlook)

2:00 p.m.            Asian Elephants (Elephant Presentation Pavilion, Sanctuary Asia)

 

The animals had their treats, now it’s time for yours! Have a ball this fall, and experience the Oklahoma City Zoo’s 38th annual Haunt the Zoo presented by Oklahoma’s own News 9. Collect gourds of candy along the Haunt the Zoo trail, while discovering wildlife and showing off your fab-BOO-lous costume. Haunt the Zoo occurs Saturdays and Sundays, October 9 through 31 with trick-or-treating available each day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through timed ticketing. To participate, general Zoo admission or ZOOfriends memberships plus, official Haunt the Zoo treat bags are required to trick-or-treat and must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets and view all ticket options, visit www.okczoo.org/tickets.  

Needing PUMPKIN to do? The Oklahoma City Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the last entry no later than 4 p.m. Purchase advance tickets at www.okczoo.org/tickets

and avoid the entry lines. Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, Oklahoma City’s Adventure District and an Adventure Road partner. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free. Stay connected with the Zoo on FacebookTwitterInstagramLinktree and TikTok, and by visiting our blog stories. Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming a ZOOfriends member. Starting at $45, memberships can be purchased at ZOOfriends.org and provide access to the OKC Zoo for an entire year plus, additional benefits and discounts. To learn more about Zoo happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.org.