The Sedgwick County Zoo is an AZA-accredited wildlife park and major attraction in Wichita, 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 400 species, it is the 13th largest zoo in the United States in both number of species and total animals, and 7th largest in total area. The zoo has slowly increased its visitors and now ranks as the number one outdoor tourist attraction in the state.
History
Sedgwick County Zoo opened to the public on August 25, 1971 as the result of a public-private partnership between Sedgwick County and the Sedgwick County Zoological Society. The zoo replaced a small, outdated exhibit in Central Riverside Park dating to the turn of the 20th Century. 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 the Brookfield Zoo, was hired as the zoo's first director. The zoo currently sits on 247 acres, of which 115 are developed.
thumb|Lioness with (imitated) zebra kill
Pride of the Plains
Opened May 29, 2000, A path winds around exhibits of lions, red river hogs, and two exhibits of meerkats. Each exhibit has several views from all sides. The whole area has a kopje theme with giant boulders. At the end is an exhibit for African painted dogs.
Cessna Penguin Cove
Opening in 2007, the Cessna Penguin Cove is the zoo's first marine exhibit, and home to a colony of Humboldt penguins, Inca terns, and grey gulls. The $1.5 million exhibit features a pool with rocky areas and coves on each side.
African Veldt
Opening in 1973 The zoo kept a pair of Nile 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.
The Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley
On March 11, 2016, six African elephants arrived at the zoo from Eswatini's Hlane Royal National Park to survive a drought. Following that, this exhibit opened in May of that year, housing all of the elephants. At over 5 acres in area, it is the third largest elephant exhibit in the United States and includes a 550,000 gallon pool. The pool is separated from a boat canal by an underwater barrier, giving visitors the impression of sharing the water with the elephants.
A male African elephant, Ajani, from Alabama's Birmingham Zoo, joined the six female elephants for breeding purposes in May 2018. In May 2023, Callee was introduced to the herd from Omaha, Nebraska's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. A few months later, Ajani transferred to the Toledo Zoo to breed with its two female elephants. 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. 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. 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.
The Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek
This $3 million Asian themed naturalistic exhibit opened in 2009 as the Slawson Family Tiger Trek, and housed Amur tigers, Malayan tigers, red pandas, and brow-antlered deer. In 2021, the exhibit was expanded and reopened as the Slawson Family Asian Big Cat Trek, and added amur leopards, snow leopards, and an area where they can be seen above guests' heads.
Amphibians & Reptiles
Originally known as the Herpetarium when it first opened in 1974
Tropics
The Tropics building is the second oldest indoor rainforest exhibit in the United States and remains one of the largest. The 28,000 square foot building opened in 1977 In 2025, Stingray Cove became free to enter, while feeding was still paid, with 2026 being expected to be Stingray Cove's last year of operation before ending for good.
North America
One of the largest sections of the zoo, the 11 acre North America habitat opened in 1993 originally as the North American Prairie. Sedgwick County Zoo has contributed to the Mexican wolf Species 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.
Australia/South America
Originally opened as the Australian Outback and South American Pampas in 1980 Large animals exhibited in South America include capybara, Chacoan peccary, giant anteater, maned wolf, and Galapagos tortoises.
KOCH: Koch Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat
The Koch Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat originally opened as Apes & Man in 1982
Rides
Martha C. Buford Safari Express
The Martha C. Buford Safari Express is a C.P. Huntington electric train manufactured by Chance 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. 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. 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. On April 16, 2022, the zoo opened a shark and stingray touch-tank exhibit. As of October 2024, the zoo is fundraising to expand the indoor elephant habitat to meet the needs of the growing herd. 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.
Incidents
- In June 2005, two flamingos escaped from the zoo during a stormy night. Since then, one of the flamingos, identified as No. 492, has been spotted in Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Texas.
- In 2008, a female Komodo dragon at the zoo hatched two offspring via parthenogenesis. The female and another female had been at the zoo since 1993 and had not had any contact with a male during that time. This marked the first parthenogenetic reproduction by a Komodo dragon in a North American zoo, and only the third documented occurrence after hatchings at the London Zoo and Chester Zoo in 2006.
- On May 6, 2011, a first-grade student on a class field trip climbed over a four-foot fence then crossed the eight-foot gap of the Amur leopard exhibit. The boy was attacked. He suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to his head and neck before a bystander kicked the leopard in the head. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, and the zoo did not euthanize the endangered animal.