Almost any lifelong resident of central Oklahoma can regale you with fond memories of trips to the Oklahoma City Zoo growing up, usually as part of family or school field trips. As adults, we bring our own children and out-of-state guests … along with the occasional trip that’s just for ourselves. The Oklahoma City Zoo is one of our state’s cultural crown jewels, hosting over a million visitors a year, covering 130 acres, and housing close to 2,000 animals. Its latest accomplishment has been the opening of Expedition Africa on March 1, coordinated and overseen by Dr. Dwight Lawson, the CEO and executive director of the Oklahoma City Zoo since 2014. This new project has been completed alongside the growth and expansion of the zoo’s tremendous conservation efforts around the world, as well as involvement with the community.
Lawson explained some of the Expedition Africa features he is most excited about: “This is our latest and greatest project. We’ve invested over $32 million and it covers over 13 acres. It includes a large savannah area for the giraffes and the new giraffe farm. It homes 37 animals new to our zoo from Africa — 60 species altogether, big and small, from giraffes to naked mole rats, fish and reptiles to dwarf mongoose. It’s got something for everyone. One of the things that I am most proud of is that we renovated the old pachyderm building that was originally built in the late 1960s. Many people in the community have fond memories of that building growing up. We reconverted that building into a dual-purpose space for private events, retaining two-thirds of it for the smaller animals.”
The zoo couldn’t undertake such a grand endeavor alone. “To do a project of this magnitude,” Lawson said, “we needed community support, and we have a great partner in the Oklahoma Zoological Society. We also get historic tax credits. We have the Fractional Sales Tax that offsets the price of admissions, allowing the Oklahoma City Zoo to have one of the lowest gate prices in the country. And we have an all-hands-on-deck attitude with staff and the community that helps us achieve these kinds of projects — and I’m excited to say that we have more in store for the future.”
When asked about what led him to this path in life, working in conservation ecology and as a director of a zoo, Lawson said that he grew up fascinated with turtles and snakes. He chose a biology degree in college, and in his sophomore year, he found himself in an ecology course with a captivating professor who did a lot of work in Central America. “I took a field course with him in Costa Rica, allowing me to study wildlife in the tropics. After graduating, I went back to grad school and ran a conservationist program in Africa. Wrapping up my Ph.D. program, I found a job in Atlanta that gave me the opportunity to learn the zoo world, as well as use my background in conservation.”
Speaking of that background, in January of this year, the nonprofit citizen diplomacy network Sister Cities International presented Lawson with its Global Vision Humanitarian Award, honoring his efforts to connect Oklahomans with vanishing wildlife and wild places around the globe and to spur conservation. “Zoos and aquariums contribute more than $250 million a year to conservation in the field — wildlife conservation groups in the field; specific programs that we spearhead,” he said. “The Oklahoma City Zoo supports conservation efforts in 117 countries around the world. Conservation is more than a goal at the Oklahoma City Zoo; it’s a fundamental part of our mission that every employee shares. We are proud to contribute to the preservation of our magnificent planet, its ecosystems and its wildlife for generations yet to come.”
Led by his vision, the Oklahoma City Zoo continues to grow in reach as it sends its staff across the world every year to learn about and support animal conservation. It also digs deep into the fibers of our community, collaborating with other institutions such as First Americans Museum with installations that teach respect for animals and culture. Our zoo is more than a day’s amusement; it is one of our most precious resources.