OKC Zoo launches initiative to dim lights for migrating birds
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An initiative called 'Lights Out Oklahoma,' proposed by the Oklahoma City Zoo, is working to limit light pollution and help birds migrate through the state safely during spring and fall.
'The effort is to turn off or down unnecessary exterior lights to help birds that are migrating through the state,' said Greg Heanue, the Chief Marketing Officer for the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Oklahoma is a hot spot for migrating birds, with spring migration right around the corner, starting April 15 through May 15.
Downtown Oklahoma City road closures begin ahead of Festival of the Arts
'When birds have completed their spring migration, those exterior lights are okay to be turned on. But you know, the benefit of turning your lights off not only is helping the birds, but also it saves you energy,' said Heanue.
For those at home not wanting to turn off their lights, Inger Giuffrida, the Executive Director of Wildcare Oklahoma, said homeowners can shield lights to only point in a downward direction.
'No one needs to protect anything coming from the sky,' Giuffrida said.
Those who may be curious about downtown lights and bright stadium bulbs, the goal isn't to take the lights away, but to turn them off when residents won't be awake to see them.
'The stadium lights, the building lights that celebrate the Thunder's win, just turn them off after 11 p.m., and that's going to make an enormous difference,' Giuffrida said.
Downtown is known for bright light attractions like the Paycom Center, the top of the First National building, and the Devon Tower.
News 4 reached out to the city to see if they plan to dim any lights. We are waiting to hear back.
However, the OKC Zoo is all in.
'We're walking the walk. So we will be turning off or down all of our unnecessary exterior lights, including here on our administrative building,' said Heanue.
'It's just about, you know, exercising some compassion towards other things that live on this earth with us,' said Giuffrida.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
U.S. Postal Service releases national dog bite rankings
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The United States Post Office kicked off its 2025 USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign releasing its findings on dog bites nationally, with Oklahoma claiming the number 26 spot. Post Office officials say dog attacks on employees are up more than 6,000 cases since 2024. The National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign offers dog-friendly information for dog owners, ensuring safe mail delivery for their employees. This year's campaign theme 'Secure Your Dog, Keep Deliveries on Track' focuses on promoting pet ownership. 'The best way to keep safe from dog attacks is to recognize and promote the responsibility of pet ownership, such as teaching your dog appropriate behavior and commands and not allowing your dog to roam freely. All dogs — regardless of breed, size or age — have the potential to bite,' said Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager. 'Dog bite attacks on postal employees are preventable. The most important message for our customers to remember during the 2025 USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign is keep your dog secured and away from the carrier as the mail is being delivered. Help ensure the safety of everyone in our communities.' USDA announces $1 billion relief to livestock producers impacted by disasters According to USPS, the cost of a dog attack can range up into the thousands for dog owners due to responsibilities for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement, and pain and suffering. 'Customers may not consider their dog a danger to others, however, to a letter carrier like me, all dogs can be considered a threat when delivering the mail,' said Jonah Helfrich, a Blue Bell, PA, letter carrier. 'I was recently delivering mail and a dog barged through a door and bit me on the wrist, which required me to seek medical treatment. I strongly encourage all dog owners to take precautions to make sure their dog is secure when mail is being delivered.' Dog owners could additionally face mail disruption with unsecured animals: When a carrier feels unsafe, mail service can be stopped. Until the carrier feels safe enough to restart delivery, the mail will have to be picked up at the dog owner's local Post Office. If a carrier feels a house or neighborhood is unsafe to deliver the mail and there is no way to inform residents their mail service has been suspended, the residents would have to contact the supervisor at their local Post Office for more information. The residents would also have to pick up their mail at the Post Office until it is safe to resume delivery. If a dangerous dog issue is not resolved, owners can be required to rent a Post Office box to receive mail. The U.S. Postal Service says, these cities (shown below) comprise the top 20 localities with the greatest number of dog bite incidents: 2024 Dog Bite/Dog Incident Data 1 LOS ANGELES, California 77 1 2 HOUSTON, Texas 65 2 3 CHICAGO, Illinois 57 3 4 ST. LOUIS, Missouri 47 4 5 CINCINNATI, Ohio 44 5 6 DALLAS, Texas 43 6 7 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 40 7 8 CLEVELAND, Ohio 40 7 9 SAN DIEGO, California 35 8 10 DENVER, Colorado 34 9 11 SAN ANTONIO, Texas 32 10 12 PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania 32 10 13 DETROIT, Michigan 32 10 14 COLUMBUS, Ohio 32 10 15 MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota 30 11 16 INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana 26 12 17 PHOENIX, Arizona 25 13 18 MEMPHIS, Tennessee 25 13 19 OMAHA, Nebraska 24 14 20 LOUISVILLE, Kentucky 24 14 21 ROCHESTER, New York 23 15 22 TOLEDO, Ohio 21 16 23 SACRAMENTO, California 21 16 24 EL PASO, Texas 21 16 25 SAN FRANCISCO, California 20 17 26 OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma 20 17 Customers can stay ahead of the game digitally preview incoming mail and packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device by signing up at USPS says, the service can help dog owners anticipate when their carrier will arrive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
4Warn Storm Team tracking storms in Oklahoma Tuesday
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The 4Warn Storm Team is keeping an eye on storms rolling into the state Tuesday. Officials say there is a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms as a cold front sweeps southeast across central Oklahoma. The main threats are damaging winds, large hail and locally heavy rainfall. You can't rule out tornadoes in Oklahoma this time of year but the threat for tornadoes is very low. 4WARN WEATHER: Oklahoma City Weather Radar Once the cold front passes your area the threat for severe weather ends rapidly. Remember, there is also a Flash Flood Watch so flooding is also possible. According to KFOR Meteorologist Emily Sutton, storms can begin Tuesday around 11 a.m. The storms may pick up into the evening hours, around 7 to 8 p.m. in the metro. The storms will then move into Southeast Oklahoma. Oklahoma Weather RadarOklahoma Weather Watches and Warnings MapKFOR SkyCam NetworkOklahoma Closings and DelaysOklahoma Weather Alerts According to NWS Norman, NOAA weather radios will be off the air starting Tuesday and through June 5 due to a required software update. Be sure to have multiple ways to receive warnings. Download the 4WarnMe app or the KFOR News app to get alerts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
NWS Norman alerts residents of NOAA weather radio outage June 3-5
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) – The National Weather Service Norman (NWS Norman) is giving a gentle reminder regarding NOAA weather radios starting June 3. Download the free interactive 4WarnMe Weather App Oklahoma Weather RadarOklahoma Weather Watches and Warnings MapKFOR SkyCam NetworkOklahoma Closings and Delays According to NWS Norman 'X' platform, 'NOAA weather radios will be off the air starting tomorrow and through June 5 due to a required software update during this time. Be sure to have multiple ways to receive warnings.' Stormy Week Ahead, Starting Tonight The following areas: Ardmore Atoka Chickasha Clinton Enid Lawton Altus Oklahoma City Wichita Falls Ponca City Wewoka Stillwater Woodward NWS Norman says, if you rely on NOAA weather radio for warnings, its important you locate other sources available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
