The Topeka Zoo (formally the Topeka Zoological Park) is a medium-sized

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located within Gage Park, just off

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

in the north central portion of the city. Despite its size, it houses over 300 animals in a number of exhibits, including one of the first indoor tropical rain forests in the United States. It is one of the most popular attractions in Topeka, with over 250,000 visitors a year. The Topeka Zoo is an accredited member of the

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aqu ...

(AZA).

History

The Gage Family donated 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. 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. The zoo lost its accreditation with the

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. In 2010, 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.

Exhibits

Kansas Carnivores

Kansas Carnivores, opened in 2009, features

cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

and river otters in side-by-side exhibits.

Hill's Black Bear Woods

Hill's Black Bear Woods was built in 1997, and features animals from North America. Units house

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world and the only marsup ...

eastern screech owl The eastern screech owl (''Megascops asio'') or eastern screech-owl, is a small typical owl, owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species resides in most types of woodland habitats across its range, ...

, and

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

. Living in tall flight pens are

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s and eagle-owls. An exhibit nearby is home to

pronghorns The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ante ...

and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

s, and another exhibit for

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus ''Mephitis (genus), Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern ...

s. Four

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

s 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 swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 304.8 cm (6 ft 2 in ...

s live in these ponds. Many wild waterfowl visit these ponds such as

mallard ducks The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

, wood ducks, and

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

Jungle Cats

The Jungle Cats exhibit features rare

Sumatran tiger The Sumatran tiger is a population of ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali tiger, Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. DNA sequencing, Sequ ...

s in thickly planted, side-by-side exhibits (one was previously home to a black-coated 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 macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') also called the red-and-yellow macaw, red-and-blue macaw or red-breasted macaw, is a large yellow, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. Its range extends from south ...

s, Bali mynah,

roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a social wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of ...

s, and

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red ibis (''Eudocimus ruber''), is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven ex ...

, are free roaming, as well as

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus hoffmanni''), also known as the northern two-toed sloth, is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary ra ...

s, and

Indian flying fox The Indian flying fox (''Pteropus medius''), also known as the greater Indian fruit bat, is a species of flying fox native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the largest bats in the world. It is of interest as a disease vector, as it is ca ...

es. Individual exhibits house

golden lion tamarin The golden lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus rosalia''; ), less commonly known as the golden lion marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Endemic to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion tamarin is a ...

s, three-banded armadillos,

Cuvier's dwarf caiman Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus'') is a small crocodilian in the alligator family from northern and central South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trini ...

yellow-spotted river turtle The yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (''Podocnemis unifilis''), also known commonly as the yellow-headed sideneck turtle and the yellow-spotted river turtle, and locally as the taricaya, is one of the largest South American river turtles. '' ...

red-footed tortoise The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored (nearly black), “loaf”-shaped ...

s, and

greater mouse-deer The greater mouse-deer, greater Malay chevrotain, or napu (''Tragulus napu'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae found in Sumatra, Borneo, and smaller Malaysian and Indonesian islands, and in southern Myanmar, southern ...

Animals and Man

The Animals and Man building features exhibits for small animals, such as

black-and-white ruffed lemur The black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much sma ...

s and

Cape porcupine The Cape porcupine (''Hystrix africaeaustralis''), Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa. Description left, 180px, Porcupine head Cape porcupines are the la ...

s. This building also serves as the indoor house for the zoo's

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

Vision and their African Tembo and

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

Cora. Both the elephants and hippo also have large outdoor yards. Elephants won't be brought back once Cora and Tembo pass and the current master plan calls for

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

es to take their place.

Camp Cowabunga

Formerly Lion's Pride, this exhibit has three

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

in a spacious exhibit, painted dogs in an adjoining yard, and

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding if there are v ...

s in an exhibit spanning the entrance to Camp Cowabunga, mixed with Kirk's dik-dik,

African spurred tortoise The African spurred tortoise (''Centrochelys sulcata''), also called the sulcata tortoise, is an endangered species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara, Sahara Desert, the Sahel, in Africa. It is the largest mainland species o ...

s, and

helmeted guineafowl The helmeted guinea fowl (''Numida meleagris'') is the best known of the guinea fowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus ''Numida''. It is native to Africa, mainly south of the Sahara, and has been widely introduced, as ...

. The main feature is a central plaza where guests can view various artefacts from Africa, sit in a canoe used in the

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

, and view the animals from safari tents. In the future, this area will feature a viewing area into a couple of exhibits for giraffes, ostriches, crowned cranes, and species of antelopes.

Lianas Forest

In the Lianas Forest (formerly Discovering Apes) building,

Bornean orangutan The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is an orangutan species endemic to the island of Borneo. It belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia and is the largest of the three ''Pongo'' species. It has a coarse, reddish coat and up ...

s 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

Malayan sun bear The Malayan sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus malayanus'') is a subspecies of sun bear, occurring in southeast Asia. In 2025, Malayan sun bear along with the Bornean sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus euryspilus''), have been selected to be new campai ...

s that once housed western lowland gorillas.

Children's Zoo

The Children's Zoo was added in 1992, and has domestic animals, such as

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...

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 The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...

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 exhibit recreating a traditional Japanese garden with a

koi , or more specifically , are colored varieties of carp ('' Cyprinus'' sp.) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of carp kept for ornamental purposes. ...

pond, honoring Kansas Chief Justice Kay McFarland, opened in 2020.

Giraffe and Friends

Giraffe and Friends was added in 2022, and is a new habitat for

reticulated giraffe The reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa reticulata'' or ''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'') is a species/subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It is differentiated from other types of giraffe by its coat, which consists of large, p ...

lesser kudu The lesser kudu (''Tragelaphus imberbis'') is a medium-sized bushland antelope found in East Africa. The species is a part of the ungulate genus '' Tragelaphus'' (family Bovidae), along with several other related species of striped, spiral-horne ...

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

es, and other species. The new habitat has barns for their giraffes, with a training room, a giraffe playroom, and an indoor and outdoor platform for guests to feed the giraffes.

Notable births

* Reticulated Giraffe, Hope, 2010 * Nile River Hippopotamus, Vision (Tank), 2010 * Three Banded Armadillo, 2010, 2011, 2015 * Bornean Orangutan, Bumi, 2013 * Golden Lion Tamarin, 2013 and 2014, 2015 * 3 Sumatran Tigers, 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. * Giraffe, Konza, 2018 * Bornean Orangutan, Udara, 2022 * Greater Malayan Chevrotain, 2023

Awards

* Edward H. Bean Award, 1972

Incidents

One orangutan died in 2003 of

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat ...

, 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. On May 6, 2010, a

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

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. On April 20, 2019, a

attacked its keeper in its exhibit, causing the keeper to need surgery. In April 2024, Karen, an

at the zoo, died after swallowing a set of keys from a zookeeper. Attempts were made to save her, but were unsuccessful. Karen lived in the Giraffe and Friends habitat before her death.

References

External links

*
Friends of the Topeka ZooTopeka Capital-Journal – Topeka Zoo articles
{{authority control Zoos in Kansas Buildings and structures in Topeka, Kansas Tourist attractions in Topeka, Kansas Educational organizations established in 1933 Zoos established in the 1930s