The first species, Arkansas River shiners, are silvery show-offs, flitting up and down at the front of their tank in the Oklahoma Trails section of the zoo.
A few feet away, the leopard darters are spotty and brown, about the size of your pinky. They’re less flamboyant than the shiners, peeking shyly from beneath the rocks in their enclosure.
Both species are new to the OKC Zoo but native to Oklahoma. Assistant Director of Aquatics Richard Shanks said it’s not too hard to keep them happy at the zoo.
“Really, it's about keeping the water, not necessarily keeping the fish — making sure that our water is pristine,” Shanks said.
That’s what the fish need in the wild too, and it’s getting harder for them to find. The shiners have disappeared from most of their native range, including their namesake river, and now only live in the Canadian River.
The leopard darters live in the Little River Basin in Southeast Oklahoma. Both species are federally listed as threatened.
“Freshwater fish, above all other species, are the most at risk group of animals because they need clean, plentiful water, which the world is running out of,” said wildlife photographer Joel Sartore. “Climate change, global warming. Call it what you will — the waters are irregular now.”
Sartore visited the OKC Zoo to photograph the fish Thursday for his Photo Ark, a National Geographic-funded project Sartore started in 2006.
The darters and shiners join more than 16,000 endangered and threatened species Sartore has photographed. He says the idea is to show people why it’s important to protect them.
“We photograph everything from polar bears and elephants all the way down to ants and shiners and sparrows and salamanders,” Sartore said. “Because on black and white backgrounds, they're all the same size. They all have an equal voice, and we can look them in the eye and really see that there's intelligence there and that they are worth saving.”
Shanks said he’s glad they get to introduce Oklahomans to these native fish, which the zoo acquired from U.S. Fish and Wildlife breeders in Tishomingo.
“It kind of brings home that endangered species aren't halfway across the world,” Shanks said. “We have them right here in our own backyard.”
Sartore said he hopes the fish inspire people to change how they manage their literal backyards, picking plants that don’t require insecticides and herbicides that eventually make their way into the water.
“If we could get people to think about planting native plants and pollinating plants, things that are good for butterflies and bees, that would be a great thing,” he said.
Sartore also wants to hype people up to support the zoo.
“I'm the Photo Ark, but really zoos are the arks. And breeding centers, like in Tishomingo, they're the arks,” Sartore said. “They're just doing everything they can to try to not let it go away, because they can't bring it back once it's gone.”
You can visit the Arkansas River shiners and leopard darters any time the OKC Zoo is open. Oct. 5 might be a good day. The zoo will be distributing native plants and hosting activities from 9 a.m. to noon for its Native Species Day event.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
