Sedgwick County Zoo Master Plan

snowleopard

snowleopard

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The Sedgwick County Zoo (247 acres) has a lot of space to work with on its Master Plan, which was unveiled just over 2 years ago. It is interesting to read through the extensive document as there are detailed maps on almost every page. There is certainly no lack of ambition:

http://www.scz.org/user/file/master_plan_book_VeryLowRes.pdf
 
Very good link. Something I have not seen elsewhere (very original) is a children's zoo with separate themes for North American Farm, South American Farm and African Farm. I am also glad to see they will be building a new larger puma yard, as the current one is way to small.

Overall this is a very good zoo that will only get better. I visited Wichita unexpectedly when I was flying home from Ohio/Indiana on the morning of September 11, 2001 and the pilot got on the loudspeaker and said there has been an explosion at the World Trade Center and all planes have been ordered to land so we will be diverting to Wichita. Stuck there for two days, so on September 12 I visited the zoo and it was much nicer than what I had anticipated. At the time it was the best lion exhibit I had seen (having since been surpassed only perhaps by Lion Camp at SDWAP).
 
If only the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens have more room to expand since they are limited by other companies by them. :( I certainly like the zoo's plans so far.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I visited Wichita unexpectedly when I was flying home from Ohio/Indiana on the morning of September 11, 2001 and the pilot got on the loudspeaker and said there has been an explosion at the World Trade Center and all planes have been ordered to land so we will be diverting to Wichita. Stuck there for two days, so on September 12 I visited the zoo and it was much nicer than what I had anticipated.
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Some might think this a very odd time to visit a zoo; other more sensible souls would regard it as the perfect thing to do under the circumstances. i was once stranded at Minneapolis airport when a plane I was on had to land there due to extreme weather conditions. Faced with a ten hour wait I thought I might do battle with the blizzard and make my way to either of the two local zoos. When I asked at the airport how I might do this, people just laughed at me. I like to think I bought a little sunshine to their lives, even if I never did make it to the zoos.
 
Yes and the people of Wichita were very hospitable. It was the biggest crowd that airport had ever had and they did their best to get everyone lodging and get them there on city shuttle buses. The mayor declared that all stranded visitors could visit any public city attraction (zoo, museum, etc) for free during our stranding.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I visited Wichita unexpectedly when I was flying home from Ohio/Indiana on the morning of September 11, 2001 and the pilot got on the loudspeaker and said there has been an explosion at the World Trade Center and all planes have been ordered to land so we will be diverting to Wichita. Stuck there for two days, so on September 12 I visited the zoo and it was much nicer than what I had anticipated.
Click to expand...

Really, really interesting circumstances for your visit!
 
sooty mangabey said:
Faced with a ten hour wait I thought I might do battle with the blizzard and make my way to either of the two local zoos. When I asked at the airport how I might do this, people just laughed at me. I like to think I bought a little sunshine to their lives, even if I never did make it to the zoos.
Click to expand...

Too bad you didn't make it to the Minnesota Zoo, as they do a good job of making most of their exhibits good for winter viewing. On the other hand, I've experienced the fact that in an outright blizzard, most local zoos will close. They know that even the most hardy Minnesotans won't venture out to the zoo in an actual blizzard.
 
We actually had quite a few visitors on September 11. Many seemed to want to do something "normal" so they came to a place that made them forget what was going on in the world. We were already having a very bad day because a staff member had a small child having cancer surgery that day. I also saw more family groups than were expected since school was already in session. Visiting a favorite zoo or museum or the like can be quite comforting.
 
I just visited the Sedgwick County Zoo yesterday, and I'd estimate that less than 10% of the zoo is outdated and in need of improvement. For example there are spectacular exhibits for lions, tigers, meerkats and gorillas, as well as massive walk-through Australian and South American complexes. I was blown away with how terrific this zoo was, and there are ambitious master plan posters all over the trails detailing the future improvements such as a new 4-acre elephant complex, an aquarium, an addition to the fantastic "Jungle" rainforest building, etc. This zoo is definitely in my top 10 for North America, and by the end of August I'll have seen just about every one of the top 60 zoos in the United States. There is nothing earth-shattering at Sedgwick County (like "Congo Gorilla Forest" at the Bronx) but it is so consistent and impressive that I'd love to revisit it again in the future. What a hidden treasure in the middle of America!
 
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