Tulsa Zoo attendance up

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Attendance is up at the Tulsa Zoo.

A total of 637,700 guests visited the zoo during the past year – the second-highest attendance in the zoo’s 87-year history. A total of 669,928 guests attended in 1997 after the opening of the Tropical American Rainforest exhibit.

This year’s attendance can be attributed to the opening of the Mary K. Chapman Rhino Reserve and Zoorassic Park, the zoo’s temporary dinosaur exhibit. Births also drove guests to the zoo, including the birth of three tiger cubs and a chimpanzee baby.

Attendance is expected to remain strong as the zoo opens new exhibits, including the Lost Kingdom complex set to open in 2017. It will be home to some of Asia’s most rare and elusive species, including Malayan tigers, snow leopards and red pandas.