Zoo Review: Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Part I

When you think of zoos bearing the title of "World Famous," what do you think of?  San Diego?  The Bronx?  London?  Berlin?  Well, how about Topeka, Kansas?  It may seem doubtful, but that's how this mid-sized midwestern zoo (well, the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, to give them their full name) once billed itself to the world when it was under the directorship of the entrepreneurial Gary Clarke.  Topeka has had its ups and downs since its heydays in the 1970's, even briefly losing its accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums from 2001-2003.  With major overhauls and the addition of several exciting new exhibits in recent years, with more to come, this zoo seems full of promise.  In the first of this two-part review, we'll look at the older exhibits.

If there is one exhibit that really put Topeka on the map, it's The Tropical Rainforest, the very first indoor rainforest building in the United States.  If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then Topeka should consider itself very flattered, as this has become a common staple of zoos around the country, with some versions sprawling over an acre.  As with many prototypes, this version looks a little small and shabby compared to newer models.  The inside is a strange mixture of semi-natural and brutalist concrete, as if the architects didn't think the world was ready for a realistic rainforest.  Things are very squared off, the waterfall directly opposite the entrance looks like a shopping mall fountain, and there are several very obvious walls built up the define the side-exhibits.  These house a variety of small rainforest species from around the globe, such as chevrotain, armadillo, and what has got to be the worst caiman exhibit in terms of animal viewing that I've ever seen.  In the center of the building is an elevated deck, from which visitors can observe a variety of birds in free flight.  I looped through the building a few times before I left the zoo, and each time I did I saw something new that I'd missed on previous visits.  Among the birds swooping around visitors are Bali mynah, roseate spoonbill, blue-crowned motmot, and Taveta golden weaver.  Also at home here are a colony of flying foxes, taking up residence in the rafters at the highest point of the building.

More tropical animals can be seen in the Liana Forest, what was once called Discovering Apes.  This building has been repurposed to educate visitors about the rainforests of Southeast Asia, with Bornean orangutans as the stars.  The orangutans can be seen indoors or outdoors, with lots of climbing structures of both sides.  The building has a neat recreation of a scientists base camp, with educational features about saving orangutans in the wild, largely focusing on palm oil.  What used to be the building's gorilla exhibit is now given over to sun bear.  This exhibit had - and still has - a unique feature in the form of a glassed-in tunnel which leads through the exhibit, which gave visitors the option of watching gorillas climb directly over their heads.  I have no idea whether the sun bear actually uses this feature, but this is the sort of innovating thinking the helped put Topeka on the map back in its days.

The largest animals in the zoo can be found in the mishmash that is the Animals and Man building, a large mammal house which features giraffe, hippopotamus, and a mixed pair of one African and one Asian elephant (historically it was common for the species to be mixed in zoos, much less common today).  The building also features a small insectarium, as well as black-and-white ruffed lemurs and crested porcupines.  The exhibits are largely unimpressive, and the signage tries to present a cohesive theme to the building, but falls short.  Looking at the indoor holding, I thought that if anti-zoo folks wanted to make a documentary about antiquated zoo exhibits, they could just film this building in black and white while the animals are in for the winter.  They may have to hurry, though - the giraffes are slated to be moved to a new exhibit, with plans for the elephants (eventually consisting of a solely African herd) to follow.  What that means for the future of the building and its remaining occupants I don't know.  I love the idea of a building devoted to the concept of "Animals and Man" - this just doesn't pull it off very well.

Having alluded to the new giraffe exhibit, under construction at the time of my visit, it must be admitted that there has been a lot of change in the air in Topeka in recent years, which continues to this day.  We'll take a look at some of the newer exhibits tomorrow.

Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center