Kansas City Zoo logo |
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| Date opened | December 13, 1909 |
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| Location | Swope Park Kansas City, Missouri, USA |
| Land area | 202 acres (82 ha) |
| Number of animals | 1,300+ |
| Memberships | AZA[1] |
| Website | www.kansascityzoo.org |
Kansas City Zoological Park (Kansas City Zoo) is a 202 acres (82 ha) zoo founded in 1909. It is located in Swope Park at 6800 Zoo Drive Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. The zoo has a Friends Of The Zoo program. It is home to more than 1,300 animals and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
In 2008, the Kansas City Zoo was voted one of America's best zoos.[2] It was ranked number one in the nation for “African Animals and Exhibits,” with the authors, Allen W. Nyhuis and Jon Wassner, praising its 95-acre (38.4 ha) Africa exhibit as representing five nations with "one of the most extensive collections of African animals we’ve ever seen." The Zoo was also ranked among the top 10 in the nation for “Australian Animals and Exhibits” and for “Pachyderms: Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos” In addition, the authors re-quoted famed ape expert Jane Goodall’s compliment that Kansas City has “one of the finest chimpanzee exhibits in North America.” “America’s Best Zoos 2008” ranks the Kansas City Zoo as the number one zoo in the nation for viewing both chimpanzees and kangaroos.
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Planning for the zoo started in 1907, and its gates opened on December 13, 1909. The zoo evolved slowly during its first 40 years, while it added exhibits such as the Bear Grotto in 1912. It gained more momentum when it added a monkey island and a children's zoo in the 1940s. In the 1950s, the Sea Lion pool, African Veldt, giraffe house, and flamingoes were all added; and the zoo added an otter pool, elephant house, and the Great Ape House in the 1960s. The early 1970s brought a dairy barn, the Great Catwalk, and gibbon islands. Approximately twenty years later (in 1991), after voting and financed from a grant, the zoo expanded to the current size of 202 acres (82 ha), adding Australia in 1993, International Festival in 1994, and Africa in 1995. The opening of the Africa section drew in approximately 40,000 visitors in first 2 days. A new building was added for the first IMAX in a zoo, the Sprint IMAX Theater. The improvements resulted in record attendance of 700,000 zoo guests, and 400,000 IMAX visitors, in 1998. The zoo has grown from a small building and 60 acres (24 ha) to a large, 202-acre (82 ha) zoo with over 1,300 animals. The Orangutan Primadome opened in 2002 as a part of new management when the zoo changed from a city-operated organization to a public-private partnership with Friends of the Zoo (FOTZ).
A 20-year plan plots the zoo's future, including new improvements. The Discovery Barn opened in 2006 along with a short-cut path to Africa. In 2007, an endangered species carousel was added to KidZone. The Zoo closed the Sprint IMAX Theater on September 4, 2007.[3] New admission gates to the zoo were opened in May 2008 featuring new parking and animals.
In 2006, the Kansas City Zoo was selected to become a breeding facility for African elephants and baboons.
Extensive renovations of the zoo began in late 2005.[4] The Discovery Barn opened in 2006, formerly the Red Barn. It contains many exhibits, and slides for children. Outside, there is a Peek-a-Boo Tree, that is fun for children to play in and get a sky-high view at the top of the tree, and like the Discovery Barn, it also contains a slide. The Promenade was also added in 2006, which is a wide path straight to the African elephants exhibit, which allows guests to reach Africa much faster. The new entrance admission gates opened in May 2008, with an educational center and a North American river otter and trumpeter swan exhibits. In early 2009, the Tropics House opened behind the Sea Lion pavilion in the 1909 Building, and the polar bear exhibit opened in August 2010, located near the entrance, in the location formerly occupied by stroller rental.[5]
The zoo, which was founded in 1909, is 202 acres (82 ha) and is home to more than 1,300 animals. It is located in Swope Park, the 29th largest municipal park in the United States. The zoo is divided into five areas of the following themes: Africa, Australia, Tiger Trail, KidZone, and The Valley.
The admission gates and facilities (such as restrooms, gift shop, and food) are located in the entrance to the Kansas City Zoo. In 2010, polar bears were re-introduced to the zoo near the existing North American river otter and trumpeter swan pool just inside the World Gate. The entry plaza also features an educational center and stops for both the zebra tram and train.
Opened on August 8, 2010, the exhibit is home to a polar bear named Nikita,[6] who was given to the Kansas City Zoo by the Toledo Zoo. The $10 million exhibit features a 140,000 US gallons (530,000 l) pool serviced by a massive waterfall, multiple indoor and outdoor viewing angles with 2.25-inch-thick (57 mm) glass windows, and space for up to two additional polar bears.[7] The exhibit was projected to open July 26, 2010 but fell behind due to weather conditions.
The Africa section is broken up into Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, the Congolese Rainforest, and Uganda. Several snack bars are located throughout Africa, as well as the Rafiki Restaurant and Equator gift shop in the Nanyuki Market (Kenya). Nanyuki Market also has a small aviary for masked lovebirds and a white-cheeked turaco. A zebra tram station and boat house are located in the Nanyuki Market. Tanzania features a pier for the boat ride on the other side of Africa.
Botswana contains African elephants in an exhibit of 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) with a water pool at one end. The elephants do paintings and demos during weekends. The elephant walk features a flamingo pool, home to lesser flamingos, Chilean flamingos, mute swans, and black-necked swans. The Promenade leads guests into Botswana, and a large bridge then connects Botswana to the rest of Africa.
Kenya has cheetahs (with a lookout building), warthogs, and a deck with a view of some springbok, lesser kudu, common eland, scimitar-horned oryx, and gray crowned cranes that roam across an African plain. saddle-billed storks and southern ground-hornbills make up the wetland-themed exhibits on the opposite side of the walkway. A bomas area, with huts to simulate a Kenyan village has lappet-faced vultures, Aldabra tortoises, bateleur eagles, red-flanked duikers, and blue duikers are worked into small exhibits. The walk-through Scrubland Aviary is home to several species of birds, including a white-cheeked turaco, white-faced whistling ducks, cattle egrets, a bare-faced go-away-bird, a rose-ringed parakeet, a helmeted guineafowl, marbled ducks, orange bishops, superb starlings, and a white-headed buffalo weaver, as well as side exhibits for red ruffed lemurs and silvery-cheeked hornbills.
Tanzania features an African lion exhibit with a lookout building. Small exhibits that appear carved or surrounded by rock simulate a natural kopje; these include serval, bushbaby, meerkat, black-footed cat, rock hyrax, masked and Fischer's lovebird, bat-eared fox, and black-throated monitor. A log-themed bridge crosses to the black rhino exhibit and a top-notch chimpanzee enclosure. The chimpanzee lookout building allows guest to view a very large area for a troop of 26 chimps to play and explore, and allows visitors to become educated on chimpanzees with a connected classroom. This side of the African plains features Masai giraffes, Grant's zebras, gray crowned cranes, and ostriches. Nearby are some ground birds, the kori bustard and secretary bird, leopard tortoises, a small house with slender-snouted crocodiles, and a hippo pool.
Uganda section has a small outdoor theater stage (Ruwenzori Theatre), and is home to spacious enclosures with African wild dogs and a troop of Guinea baboons, which sit adjacent to one another. A reservation-only campsite is located off into the woods from Uganda.
The Congolese Rainforest is located across a swinging bridge from Kenya with red-capped mangabey and black mangabey exhibits. An African leopard is featured in an exhibit with an overhead area that visitors walk under. A raised pathway crosses through exhibits containing bongo, gray crowned crane, red river hog, and yellow-backed duiker exhibits nestled in the dense forest. Two bachelor groups of wester lowland gorillas can be viewed from a lookout building and from a wooden shelter.
Australia lies in the northernmost part of the zoo; there you can find a large field that is home to free-roaming red kangaroos. It features a walk-through Woodland Aviary, which includes black swans, tawny frogmouth, straw-necked ibis, pied imperial pigeon, silver gull, smew, magpie goose, cockatiel, eclectus parrot, plumed whistling duck, long-billed corella, chestnut teal, Wompoo fruit dove, Australian shelduck, white cockatoo, and sulphur-crested cockatoo.Beside the exit to the aviary is an emu exhibit. A pair of New Guinea Singing Dogs(New Guinea Dingoes) live beyond that, formerly home to Australian Dingoes. Also featured are parma wallaby, Bennett's wallaby, and Matschie's tree kangaroo. A replica of an Australian sheep farm features a farmers home, a building with various animal hides and preserves, spotted python, green tree python, a pair of laughing kookaburras, and a hands-on sheep pen. An exhibit with dromedary camels is just past the sheep farm as visitor's are finishing the loop around Australia. Overlooking the kangaroo field is a train station and snack bar.
The Tiger Trail has been home to many types of animals over the years; and recently, the area was renovated to center around the return of tigers to the Kansas City Zoo, and its native Asia. The entire trek is filled with oriental plants, lanterns, statues, and various pictures of Asian animals. The Francois langur is featured in the first enclosure. The path leads to a tunnel with golden pheasant and red panda. The langurs and the pandas swap exhibits according to outdoor conditions (pandas are outside in fall and winter, while in tunnel during spring and summer). The next area is home to a small family of Bornean orangutan, and their large outdoor "primadome", which became their new home after moving from the outdated Ape House in 2002. The focal point of the Tiger Trail is the critically endangered Sumatran tiger exhibit, which is home to two male tigers. Other animals on exhibit are the, wreathed hornbill, demoiselle crane, and the tufted deer. Near the former ape house, Asian waterfowl, such as red-crowned crane, Mandarin duck, and common shelduck can be viewed in a wetlands exhibit.
The KidZone area features a large cage for rainbow lorikeets, with three daily feedings that guests may participate in. There is a large sea lion pool, which has several shows daily. The original 1909 building is located behind the sea lions, which reopened in early 2009 as the Tropics House; it was previously Zooville, a reptillian house. Farm animals make up the majority of the exhibits in KidZone, including micro pig, llama and alpaca, and fallow deer. It also features an outdoor stage for the Wild Wonders animal show, which focuses primarily on birds and includes animals in its lineup that aren't in regular exhibits (such as the African fish eagle). The Discovery Barn opened in 2006 replacing the outdated Red Barn. Pygmy goats, donkeys, and camel rides are all located in the area next to the barn. Within KidZone there is the Carousel Cafe, a snack bar, a snake house, and an endangered species carousel.
In the Discovery Barn, scarlet macaw, green-winged macaw, White's tree frog, Hourglass Tree Frog, squirrel monkey, marine toad, American toad, radiated tortoise, Prevost's squirrel, meerkat, ring-tailed lemur, and poison dart frog are housed alongside educational and fun features for children (including slides).
In the Tropics House, Saki monkeys, golden lion tamarin, white-cheeked gibbon, blue monkey, small-clawed otter, capybara, prehensile-tailed porcupine, Mona monkey, crested screamer, green aracari, and freshwater stingray in a 13,000 square feet (1,200 m2) building. Exotic plants species and a vaulted glass roof for natural light are also included.[8] The enclosure's first birth came when Abby and Indigo, the zoo's blue monkey couple, welcomed their newborn baby on November 4, 2009.
A flamingo pond borders the outside edge of the valley. The rest of The Valley was closed in 2005 for construction of the polar bear exhibit, but because of issues with the location, the polar bear enclosure was relocated to the Front Entry Plaza. Former exhibits included outdoor enclosures for maned wolf and red panda. The old aviary row is now Beaks and Feet Boulevard, with exhibits for Indian Peafowl, Green Iguana, military and green-winged macaws, spectacled owl, Swainson's toucan, black-billed magpie, golden lion tamarin, and red-handed tamarin.
A zebra-themed tram takes zoo guests along the African elephants and flamingos, from the World Gate to the African section of the zoo known as "Nanyuki Market" (in Kenya).
A mini train takes visitors around the main area of the zoo with stops at World Gate and Australia. dromedary camel and kangaroos can be seen from the ride.
A boat takes visitors (Memorial Day through Labor Day) for an up-close view of the African savannah animals, such as the Masai giraffe, Lesser Kudu and Scimitar-horned oryx.
A modified ski lift that goes over the middle of the Africa section from the marketplace to the Chimpanzees. Riders may choose if to ride a round trip or just get off at the other side.
Shows and events:
Penguins are planned for the zoo's next addition in 2011, and a series of fundraising events throughout 2010 will help provide the money required to construct the exhibit.
Other proposed additions to the zoo include an aquarium; a new predator hill exhibit (where the former primate house is); a South America area behind the tropics building; and a Missouri Trails exhibit (which will include bears, prairie dogs, and more wildlife native to Missouri).
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