Don't Call Me Ishmael: Zoos if by Kansas

Male rhino at Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City

Kansas might not be the state that come to mind when thinking of peculiar features. That towns of almost every size boast a local zoo seems absurd, as many towns of 10,000 or less have their zoological park. A

century ago, Kansas had a strong progressive streak. Even as it has turned more conversative, zoos have evolved into a form of civic pride. There are larger zoos in Wichita and Topeka (across the border in Kansas City too). But the small zoos are a throwback to a time when the zoo could endure in a little Kansas town.

There are zoos in towns that most people only know from signs along Interstate 70– Hutchinson, Clay Center, Salina, Manhattan and more. Someday I might land at their gates, but on this trip, I visited one zoo that impressed me before, and another I had to see to understand. Coming from Colorado, the first stop lies in Garden City, whose city-run Lee Richardson Zoo is more impressive than zoos in towns ten times larger (Garden City, pop. 28,000).

On my previous visit, many warm-weather inhabitants stayed inside. Today they had no qualms about venturing out. Entering the zoo, the rhinoceros enclosure lies straight ahead. The LR Zoo has three – a female who lives with her 18-month-old son (who is almost as big as his mother), and a solitary male, father of the calf.

The giraffe enclosures also split up males and females. While not the herds boasted by larger zoos, Garden City had three, a mom, dad and juvenile. Along with one-time local fauna (river otters, bison) and a range of exotic cattle and deer, the zoo has a strong stable with big cats, including jaguars and African lions. Along with smaller cats like the zoo’s bobcats, they had no use for the heat and slept through the afternoon.

Gang of lemurs

Time forced us to skip the zoo in Great Bend. Further east, I promised not to leave Emporia without visiting the David Traylor Zoo.

When I heard references to the small size of Emporia’s zoo, I never realized it would be that small. It is one of the smallest zoos accredited by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the organization that allows zoos to take part in captive breeding and species survival programs. It’s a high hurdle for a small facility, but the Traylor Zoo is clearly a local point of pride.

Set in a small park, the Traylor Zoo presents a pretty incredible public space, one that gives the animals dignified enclosures in what amounts to a corner park on the edge of Emporia.

The David Traylor Zoo earns the time of anyone who stops. Even in the blazing heat a handful of cars pulled up to the corner lot and wandered through the exhibits. If you lived here, the zoo could be a nice afternoon diversion.

Between all the exhibits, exquisite flowers filled out the space, and did turtle-filled ponds. The landscaping at the free zoo gives the feel of a larger space. The city has clearly spent a good amount on on what could have been dead space, as the brightly hued flowers sometimes turned the zoo into a garden that happened to include some unusual animals.

Dude and Dudette, king vultures

The zoo’s two cats, a bobcat and a mountain lion, panted heavily from the shady spots in the respective exhibits, waiting out the blazing afternoon. As in Garden City, the Emporia lemurs seemed unaffected by the humidity, romping and grooming each other. The tamarins, tiny New World monkeys, also moved briskly through their trees.

The Traylor Zoo might be most memorable for its birds, including some exotic and endangered species. Four nenes occupied an enclosure with a large pond. The Hawaiian geese seemed downright friendly, nudging against the fence and making their signature call the longer I stood watching them. Even in the heat, they liked the attention.

Along with a range of hawks, owls, ibises and two bald eagles watching from high in a netted perch, the vultures also stood out. The zoo boasted two king vultures from Central and South America, both with ornate face markings. Dude and Dudette are in their early 30s, but their brightly colored faces do not give away their ages. Not on exhibit yet is Doodle, their 3-month-old chick. That being said, age might be relative with these colorful but still lively scavengers.

A turkey vulture soared above the zoo while we saw the South American vultures – suspect timing to me. Perhaps it was jealous of the attention its more exotic cousins drew.

But the domestic vulture soon moved on. An even bigger vulture sat in the next exhibit, the Eurasian black vulture. With piercing eyes and a beak designed to tear flesh, this giant bird appeared unlikely to suffer fools. The laughing kookaburra from Australia broke up the string of carrion eaters.

A few larger fenced exhibits housed the zoo’s resident bison and 15-year-old mule deer, who was born at the zoo. Emporia didn’t have a lot of space, but they did not cram in animals that would have lived uncomfortable lives in that space.

I had prepared to cringe at the zoo due to its size – small zoo usually means animals in uncomfortable exhibits with concrete floors and bars.

Not in Emporia. The Traylor Zoo deserves plaudits for proving the quality a small zoo can radiate.