Kansas City Zoo

I finally made it to the zoo today!  I got there around 9 a.m. and 3 hours later I had a slight sunburn, very tired feet and 158 pictures to edit. I gotta say that the zoo here is amazing and I'm looking forward to going back again.
 The zoo was founded in 1909 with one building on 60 acres.  Today the zoo is a 202 acre site and still growing. The trail through Africa is 2 miles long. I walked some, took the Sky Safari and tram to get through only abut 2/3 of it.  In 2008, "America's Best Zoo's  ranked the KC Zoo as the number one zoo in the nation to see both chimpanzees and kangaroos. In 2002 a partnership was formed between the Zoo and the Friends of the Zoo. Under this agreement, Friends of the Zoo, a non-profit membership based organization, manages all zoo operations.  Between 2007 and 2011 the Zoo invested $65 million in capital projects at the zoo. In may opinion, the zoo is so good because it is not "city" managed. Some county tax money has been used for the zoo so residents of that county get tickets for over a 50% discount with proof of residency. They also have an "Adopt a Wild Child" program where you can adopt an individual  animal or a family group for less than a dollar a day. Neat idea! 

This is Nikita, a polar bear.  He is in a 140,000 gallon pool that is kept at a cool 65 degrees. The head above water goes with the body under water - the waves distort the pic a bit. There are 2 polar bears in the Polar Bear Passage - Nikita and Berlin. The bears are near the front entrance so I saw them when I got there and just before I left. Both times, Berlin was pacing and Nikita was in the water doing the same swimming routine of diving and them coming up out of the water. Their dens and bedrooms are also kept at 65 degrees to keep them cool.  Besides the pool, there is also a 105 ton sand box and a grassy area for the bears. Not a bad life if you are a polar bear.....

At right is a New Guinea Singing dog. These dogs are native to the mountain forest of New Guinea and are the result of domestic dogs that reverted back to the wild. They do not make good pets because they will not form an emotional dependence with humans. "Singing dogs" are able to change the pitch of their howl which is unlike any other domestic or wild dog. They can live for over 14 years in captivity but are endangered in the wild due to hunting. I have never heard of them before.

I'm walking along the trail, come around the corner and there are several red kangaroos on the trail and beside the trail.  Some other people and I assumed that they had gotten out until a zoo person came by and said " They didn't jump the fence - they are allowed to roam their 7 acre area." There was a gate at each end of the trail but still..... He said the zoo had 30 of the Red Kangaroos and they are very docile. I loved seeing them since I don't think I have ever seen a kangaroo live before.  They definitely were not afraid of people.

I usually don't stop for chimps at a zoo - watching them swinging around in a cage doesn't do anything for me.   But wow!  These guys have a 3 acre forest and grass area with no bars or fence.  There is a wide dry moat but that is all.  They can play on a log, climb in the trees or "arrange the hair on a buddy". I don't know how many chimps they have but I saw 5 while I was there.