Zoo Review: Sedgwick County Zoo, Part I

As I'm sure I've said before, I'm perpetually amazed and confused by the distribution of America's great zoos.  That New York should have an excellent zoo is clear to me, as should warm, subtropical locations that can easily keep animal outdoors year round.  But what am I to make of the fact that one of the most incredible zoos I've ever seen (and certainly one of the largest) is in, of all places... Wichita?

Sprawling over nearly 250 acres, the Sedgwick County Zoo is one of the newest large zoos in the country, opening in 1971.  As such, it has the advantage over many more established American zoos that it was free to start building for scratch, without having to accommodate old, outdated, and sometimes historically-significant facilities.  Its youth and blank slate allowed it to take advantage of newer trends in zoo design; its indoor rainforest building, The Jungle, was only the second such building in the US when it opened in 1977, after the one at the Topeka Zoo (strange how the country's first two indoor jungle exhibits both arose in Kansas).  The zoo has continued to develop, with significant contributions to conservation (from Mariana Island birds to Armenian vipers) and noteworthy animal exhibits, many of them award-winning.

Upon entering the gates (and passing the flamingo pool that is almost obligatory as an entry-exhibit in American zoos), visitors come to the original exhibit area of the zoo, the farmyard.  This is no typical barnyard, however, but an international endeavor to introduce domestic-exotics (exotic domestics?) from around the world, with themed areas for Africa, Asia, and North America.  Camels and water buffalo join the more familiar goats, sheep, cows, pigs, horses, and chickens.  The scale here is also impressive - the barn is massive, the number of animals present much greater than seen at many children's zoos, and the level of education offered impressive.  Visitors may sometimes encounter animals being taken out to graze or exercise, combining interaction with enrichment admirably.

The half-acre The Jungle building is a show-stopper by itself, a meandering walk through deep, lush forest (at the time of my visit, the roof and recently been replaced, allowing more natural light in and really helping the plants to thrive).  The entryway contains a darkened hall of terrariums that house a variety of rainforest invertebrates, and there are side exhibits for Cuban crocodile and common vampire bats, but most of the building is taken up by one vast free-flight aviary.  Visitors can see birds bopping along on the forest floor, swimming through pools, or at eye-level in the trees.  Included in the feathered ensemble are Asian fairy bluebirds, crested couas, great blue turacos, Vietnam pheasants, Victoria crowned pigeons, and sunbitterns, among many other species.  At one point, the trail dips "below the water," forming a tunnel that passes through aquariums of turtles, fish, and crayfish.  A set of aviaries tucked in the back display the rare birds of the Mariana Islands - Guam rail, Micronesian kingfisher, Mariana fruit dove.  Also, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Indian flying foxes (giant fruit bats) that inhabit the trees.

The Amphibians and Reptiles Building is less immersive, to be sure, but it does contain an extremely impressive collection of species (including some native freshwater fish in an aquarium right inside the entrance).  Exhibits range from the excellent, such as the spacious habitat for Chinese alligators (SCZ is one of the few US zoos to successfully breed this species) with a deep pool for underwater viewing, to the... eccentric.  Okay, the later adjective really only applies to the small indoor Aldabra tortoise exhibit, elevated several feet, which is enclosed by a strange railing system that reminds me vaguely of a torture device (the tortoises also have a nice outdoor yard).  There were several species here that I'd never seen before, and some I'd never even heard of, which is no easy feat for me, considering how many US zoos I go to.  The collection of venomous snakes was especially noteworthy.

Past these two buildings is the Cessna Penguin Cove, a recreation of a stretch of South America's Pacific coast that is inhabited by a flock of Humboldt penguins, accompanied by Inca terns.  Relatively few zoos cover their penguin exhibits, which not only protects the birds from wild interlopers, which may steal fish or transfer diseases, but also allows for the inclusion of flighted birds.  The theming of the exhibit is excellent, but most visitors will bypass the nice landscaping and head straight for the underwatering viewing windows.

Chimpanzees and Sumatran orangutans are found near the entrance in the Koch Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat.  Commodious, well-furnished outdoor habitats with multiple viewing areas are attached to a viewing building, which serves as a miniature museum of apes, with lots of excellent signage on their conservation and natural history.  So well thought of it the exhibit that Dr. Jane Goodall chose it as the pilot for her workshop program in training ethologists (animal behavior scientists) in observing chimp behavior.

Those are just some of the many excellent exhibits and animal highlights at the Sedgwick County Zoo - and we still haven't touched the sprawling continental complexes that represent most of the zoo.  We'll cover those facilities and their occupants tomorrow!

Sedgwick County Zoo