What's New at the Zoo?
African lion cubs, and Sumatran tigers, and bears, oh, my! The largest reconstruction effort in a decade is now underway at the Kansas City Zoo. Here's what to expect to expect when you visit this summer...
Discovery Barn: An enclosed, air conditioned makeover of the old
Red Barn, brings children and families in close contact with exotic animals
like ring-tail lemurs, squirrel monkeys, macaws, meerkats, Prevost's squirrels,
agouti and more. The new barn offers families great opportunities for learning
and fun - particularly on its new two-story slide.
Peekaboo Treehouse: An all-new feature for young children, built
adjacent to the Discovery Barn. The treehouse provides children with safe
and fun opportunities to climb, laugh and play like animals in the wild.
Promenade (Opens mid-June 2006): An all-new main street shortens
the distance for visitors to walk from the main entrance to the elephant
watering hole at the entrance to the Zoo's heralded Africa exhibit. The
new wide, straight pathway reduces the distance of that current walk by
two thirds.
Carousel Café: A completely renovated restaurant located adjacent
to the sea lion exhibit. Funded by the H&R Block Foundation, the new
café is designed to provide many more food choices, and to serve
more people more efficiently.
Animal Update: Two Sumatran Tigers, Langka and Manis, are now on
display at the Zoo. The tigers, male litter-mates, came in March from the
Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The pair was moved in March to an exhibit
along the Tiger Trail, near the Australian area of the Zoo. They will be
housed in the space used in the 2005 to exhibit the white tiger, Silver.
Unlike Silver, who was on loan for a season, Langka and Manis are on permanent
exhibit. Sumatran tigers are classified as critically endangered, and less
than 250 are thought to exist in the wild. Although they have few natural
predators, their pelts and body parts are sold on the black market, and
they face a quickly shrinking habitat. They are found only on the island
of Sumatra, off the coast of Malaysia. By some estimates, the Sumatrans
could be an extinct sub-species within a decade. Look for the orange paw
prints! Also, in Australia, look for new joeys (baby kangaroos). And in
Africa, the year-old African lion cubs will be on display; the boys are
named Jabari, which means brave or valiant; Shakarri (great hunter); Shangaza
(surprise); and the girl is named Zuri (beautiful). With the addition of
the cubs, the Zoo has a pride of 10 African lions: six males and four females.
Other major improvements expected in the next few years:
2007: The Zoo's original building will be turned into an indoor tropics
exhibit, including a monkey house.
2008: A new Zoo entrance, featuring a drop off point at the front gate.
2009: The return of the polar bears into a state of the art above/below
water exhibit.
The Kansas City Zoo is located in Swope Park near Starlight Theatre, Kansas
City, Missouri. Open daily 9:30 am to 5 pm, (816) 513-5700.
Look for improvement updates on the Zoo's website, www.kansascityzoo.org.
Just click on "Follow Our Progress."
And for a printable zoo map, check this link: http://www.kansascityzoo.org/_FileLibrary/FileImage/NewMap-mod.pdf