Topeka Zoo

Entrance gate, c. 1912. The zoo was originally known as the Gage Park Zoo.

The Gage Family donated 80 acres (32 ha) to the city of Topeka in 1899 to use for a public park. Over the years, the park has accumulated playgrounds, a swimming pool, a fishing lake, a mini train, a rose garden, and a carousel.[1]

The zoo was opened in the park in 1933. Additional exhibits were constructed over the years, and in 1963 the city hired its first zoo director, Gary K. Clarke. The first major facility at the zoo was constructed in 1966 to house large mammals. Clarke went on to get many of the current exhibits constructed, including Gorilla Encounter (1985), the temporary Koala Exhibit (1986), Lions Pride (1989), the Tropical Rainforest, and Discovering Apes.[1][4]

The zoo lost its accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2001, due to mismanagement, poor conditions for some of the animals being exhibited, and the deaths of several animals. In 2003, after a major overhaul of the zoo and the addition of several new exhibits, the Topeka Zoo regained its accreditation.[5]

In 2011, the City hired a new zoo director by the name of Brendan Wiley. After this hire, the general demeanor of the citizens toward the zoo has been more positive.

Kansas Carnivores

Kansas Carnivores, opened in 2009, features cougars and river otters in side-by-side exhibits.

Hill's Black Bear Woods

Hill's Black Bear Woods was built in 1997,[4] and features animals from North America. Units house Virginia opossum, Harris hawk, and red-tailed hawk. bald and golden eagles live in tall flight pens. A coyote inhabits a densely planted exhibit while pronghorns have an exhibit nearby. Four black bears live in a spacious enclosure with trees to climb. They can be viewed from an elevated walkway, or a ground level window.

Waterbird Lagoon

Waterbird Lagoon features three ponds. Waterfowl such as trumpeter swans live in these ponds. Many wild waterfowl visit these ponds such as mallard ducks, wood ducks, and herons.

Jungle Cats

The Jungle Cats exhibit features rare Sumatran tigers in thickly planted, side-by-side exhibits (one was previously home to a black leopard). Both yards have water features. 3 Sumatran tigers cubs were born in May 2014.

Tropical Rainforest

The Tropical Rainforest was the first indoor rainforest exhibit in the United States. Birds, such as scarlet macaws, Bali mynah, roseate spoonbills, and scarlet ibis, are free roaming, as well as Hoffmann's two-toed sloths, and Indian flying foxes. Individual exhibits house three-banded armadillos, red-footed tortoises, and greater mouse-deer.

Animals and Man

The Animals and Man building features exhibits for small animals, such as black-and-white ruffed lemurs and African crested porcupines. This building also serves as the indoor house for the zoo's hippopotamus, African and Asian elephants, and giraffe. They all have large outdoor yards, and the giraffes share theirs with East African crowned cranes.

Camp Cowabunga

Formerly Lion's Pride, this exhibit has three lions in a spacious exhibit, painted dogs in an adjoining yard, and Patas monkeys in an exhibit spanning the entrance to Camp Cowabunga, mixed with Kirk's dik-dik, leopard tortoises, and guineafowl. Nearby is an exhibit for ostriches. The main feature is a central plaza where guests can view various artefacts from Africa, sit in a canoe used in the Zambezi, and view the animals from safari tents. In the future, this area will feature a viewing area into a new exhibit for African elephants.

Lianas Forest

In the Lianas Forest (formerly Discovering Apes) building, orangutans live behind glass in an enclosure replicating the treetops in Borneo. They also have a spacious outdoor yard, meant to emulate Camp Leakey. The Treetop Conservation Center is now part of the building. A tunnel leads visitors through an outdoor enclosure which now houses sun bears that once housed gorillas.

Children's Zoo

The Children's Zoo was added in 1992,[4] and has domestic animals, such as sheep and goats to feed. There is a playground next to the Children's Zoo.

Adventure Trail

Adventure Trail was added in 2015 and includes many family friendly experiences. The Rainbow lorikeet aviary houses several colorful lorikeets that you can feed for a fee. A playground includes many climbing structures, a place to ride tricycles, and a mining sluice. The general store in this area also serves as a point to purchase snacks and refreshments.

Kay's Garden

An upcoming exhibit recreating a traditional japanese garden with a koi pond, honouring Kansas Chief Justice Kay McFarland.

• Reticulated giraffe, Konza, 2018
• Reticulated giraffe, Hope, 2011
• Nile River hippopotamus, Vision, 2011
• Three banded armadillo, 2010, 2011, 2015
• Bornean orangutan, Bumi, 2013
• Golden lion tamarin, 2013 and 2014, 2015
• 3 Sumatran Tiger cubs, Raza, Shanti, and ChloJo, 2014
• Hoffmann's 2-toed sloth, 2014, 2015 - They have a history of successfully breeding sloths
• Greater Malayan Chevrotain, 2014, 2015 - One of 9 AZA zoos in the US to house this species in 2015.

One orangutan died in 2003 of tularemia, an infectious disease carried by rabbits and some rodents but sometimes found in humans and primates. A dead rabbit was found outside of their enclosure and officials think all three primates handled the rabbit before the five orangutans took ill. In reaction, the zoo has installed a rabbit-proof fence around the orangutan area.[5][6]

On May 6, 2010, a bobcat in the zoo escaped its cage after a vandal apparently pried the animal's cage open. The bobcat was found several hours later in some bushes not far from its cage, and was tranquilized and returned to its cage without further incident.[7]

On April 20, 2019, a Sumatran tiger attacked its keeper in its exhibit, causing the keeper to need surgery.[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Topeka Zoo.

• Official website
• Friends of the Topeka Zoo
• Topeka Capital-Journal - Topeka Zoo articles