| Sedgwick County Zoo | |
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 Interactive map of Sedgwick County Zoo | |
| 37°42′57″N97°24′37″W / 37.7158°N 97.4104°W /37.7158; -97.4104 | |
| Date opened | August 25, 1971; 54 years ago (August 25, 1971)[2] |
| Location | Wichita, Kansas,US |
| Land area | 247 acres (100 ha)[1] |
| No. of animals | 3,000 |
| No. of species | 400 |
| Annual visitors | 654,494 (2009)[2] |
| Memberships | AZA[3] |
| Public transit access |  Wichita Transit |
| Website | scz |
TheSedgwick County Zoo is anAZA-accredited wildlife park and major attraction inWichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1971, with the help of the Sedgwick County Zoological Society, the zoo has quickly become recognized both nationally and internationally for its support of conservation programs and successful breeding of rare and endangered species. Housing over 3,000 animals of nearly 400species, it is the 13th largest zoo in the United States in both number of species and total animals,[4] and 7th largest in total area.[5] The zoo has slowly increased its visitors and now ranks as the number one outdoor tourist attraction in the state.[6]
Sedgwick County Zoo opened to the public on August 25, 1971 as the result of a public-private partnership betweenSedgwick County and the Sedgwick County Zoological Society. The zoo replaced a small, outdated exhibit inCentral Riverside Park dating to the turn of the 20th Century.[7] The zoological society formed in 1963 and by 1966 voters approved $3.65 million in bonds to purchase the land that would become Sedgwick County Zoo and Sedgwick County Park. Richard Blakey, director of theBrookfield Zoo, was hired as the zoo's first director.[7]
The zoo originally opened with just two buildings, the American and Asian farms, although other exhibits opened over the next decade. The African Veldt exhibit opened in 1973, the Herpetarium (now Amphibians & Reptiles) opened in 1974, the Jungle (now Tropics) opened in 1977, the Australian Outback and South American Pampas (now Australia/South America) opened in 1980, and the Apes & Man building (now KOCH Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat) opened in 1982.[8]
Additional major exhibit openings include the North American Prairie (now North America) in 1993, Pride of the Plains in 2000, Downing Gorilla Forest in 2004, Cessna Penguin Cove in 2007, Slawson Family Tiger Trek in 2009 (expanded to Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek in 2021), and Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley in 2016.[8] Major non-exhibit updates include the opening of Oliver Animal Hospital in 2000 and the 15,000 square foot Cargill Learning Center in 2006.[9] The zoo currently sits on 247 acres, of which 115 are developed.[8][5]
Opening in 2004, the Downing Gorilla Forest starts out in a recreation of a smallCongo village with exhibits forcolobus monkeys andwhite pelicans. Across a bridge is an exhibit forsaddle-billed storks, as well as one forblack crowned cranes andokapis. The main attraction is a largegorilla exhibit. They can be viewed in their indoor home, outside through large viewing windows or across a moat.[10][11]
Opened May 29, 2000, A path winds around exhibits oflions,red river hogs, and two exhibits ofmeerkats. Each exhibit has several views from all sides. The whole area has akopje theme with giant boulders. At the end is an exhibit forAfrican painted dogs.
Opened in 2007, Penguin Cove is the zoo's first marine exhibit, and home to a colony ofHumboldt penguins,Inca terns, andgrey gulls.[12] The $1.5 million exhibit features a 42,000-US-gallon (159,000 L) pool with rocky areas and coves on each side.[13]
This exhibit as of August 2025 features two genericgiraffes, elevenAfrican bush elephants, twoGrévy's zebras, oneblack rhinoceros,caracals,Marabou storks, andblue cranes.[14] The zoo kept a pair ofNile hippopotamuses named Pudgie and Sweetie Pie for over 50 years, starting shortly after the inception of the zoo, until their deaths in May 2023 and August 2025 respectively.[15]
On March 11, 2016, six African elephants arrived at the zoo fromEswatini'sHlane Royal National Park to survive a drought.[16][17] A new elephant exhibit namedThe Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley opened in May of that year, housing all of the elephants.[18] At over 5 acres in area, it is the third largest elephant exhibit in the United States and includes a 550,000 gallon pool.[19][20] The pool is separated from a boat canal by an underwater barrier, giving visitors the impression of sharing the water with the elephants.[21][22]
A male African elephant, Ajani, from Alabama'sBirmingham Zoo, joined the six female elephants for breeding purposes in May 2018.[23] In May 2023, Callee was introduced to the herd fromOmaha, Nebraska'sHenry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.[24] A few months later, Ajani transferred to theToledo Zoo to breed with its two female elephants.[25] On March 14, 2025, the zoo's female African Elephant Simunye gave birth to the first elephant calf ever born at the zoo, but unfortunately, the calf was stillborn. The deceased calf was given the name Malaika meaning "angel" in Swahili.[26] On April 10, 2025, another female elephant, Talia, gave birth to the first surviving elephant calf in zoo history. The male calf was named Bomani, meaning "warrior" in Swahili.[27] Xolani, a third elephant, gave birth to a male calf named Kijani on April 14, 2025, and Arusi followed with a female calf named Asali on June 3, and Zuberi rounded out the breeding by giving birth to a female calf named Dakari on August 22, 2025.[28]
This $3 million Asian themed naturalistic exhibit was opened in 2009 as the Slawson Family Tiger Trek, and housedAmur tigers,Malayan tigers,red pandas, andbrow-antlered deer. In 2021, the exhibit was expanded and reopened as the Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek, and addedamur leopards,snow leopards, and an area where they can be seen above guests' heads.[29]
The Tropics building is the second oldest indoor rainforest exhibit in the United States and remains one of the largest.[30][8] The 28,000 square foot building opened in the late 1970s and includes over 300 species of live plants, approximately 50 species of free-flying birds, and multiple additional species oftropical fishes,reptiles,bats, andinvertebrates.[31][30] The exhibit underwent a $3 million upgrade in 2015 which replaced the roof, allowing for more natural light and consistent humidity, resulting in healthier plants and naturalcircadian rhythms for the animals.[30]
One of the largest sections of the zoo, the 11 acre North America habitat opened in 1993.[8] This area is currently home toAmerican bison,elk,black bears,grizzly bears,North American river otters,cougars,black-footed ferrets,Mexican wolves,black-tailed prairie dogs, and many North American birds and reptiles.[32] Sedgwick County Zoo has contributed to the Mexican wolfSpecies Survival Plan since their arrival at the zoo with the opening of the North America exhibit, and multiple pups born at the zoo have been released into the wild.[33][34]
Originally opened as the Australian Outback and South American Pampas, these two connected exhibits together form one of the largest walk-throughaviaries in the United States.[8] In addition to numerous free-flying birds,Australia features exhibits ofemu,southern cassowary,wallaroo, and free-rangingtammar wallabies.[35] Large animals exhibited inSouth America includecapybara,Chacoan peccary,giant anteater,maned wolf, andGalapagos tortoises.[36]
When the zoo first opened to the public in 1971, the American Farm and Asian Farm were the only completed exhibits. These were later joined by the African Farm in 1982,[9] and together they are referred to as the Children's Farms. This section of the zoo features more than 40breeds ofdomestic animals from all over the world, including many breeds ofsheep andgoats that visitors are able to feed and pet.[8][37]
The Martha C. Buford Safari Express is aC.P. Huntington electric train manufactured byChance Rides that opened in 2022. Two locomotives, each with four cars and capable of carrying up to 50 visitors, travel on a 1.3 mile track around the zoo.[38][39] The train stops at two stations: one near the zoo entrance and one near the Downing Gorilla Forest. Much of the path travels behind the scenes of the zoo, including past thepasture for the Children's Farm animals and behind the elephant exhibit.[38][39]
Visitors are able to board a boat ride in the zoo's Africa section that passes an island inhabited byeastern white pelicans, the Downing Gorilla Forest, and much of the North America exhibit before returning to Africa at the Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley.[40] An underwater barrier separates the boat ride from the 80-yard long, 550,000 gallon pool in the elephant exhibit, allowing riders to share the water with the elephants.[8]
African Veldt
Pride of the Plains
The Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley
The Downing Gorilla Forest
The Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek
A new entrance for the zoo opened on May 27, 2021[41] which, along with the completion of the Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek and an electric train route around the zoo, completed Phase 1 of the 25-year master plan.[42][39] On April 16, 2022, the zoo opened ashark andstingray touch-tank exhibit.[43] As of October 2024, the zoo is fundraising to expand the indoor elephant habitat to meet the needs of the growing herd.[44] Future phases of the master plan call for an expansion of the Amphibians & Reptiles complex to include an aquarium featuring a 55,000-gallon shark tank. Plans are also in place for an onsite, 200–300 room "African lodge" style hotel overlooking a mixed-species African savanna exhibit. The lodge and an indoor water park would be built on 40 acres of currently undeveloped land at the back of the zoo.[42][45]
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