A private breeding facility built by Jim Fouts, a former Sedgwick Co. Zookeeper and animal dealer, is set to open this spring. Tanganyika Wildlife Park, Wichita Wildlife Park, Zoo Wichita, Family Entertainment, Wildlife Sanctuary, Feed Animals ~ Tanganyika Wildlife Park They will have: Giraffes, Grevy's Zebra, Bongo, Lion, Tiger, Black-footed Penguin, Indian Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Pallas Cat, Fossa, Lemur, Gibbons, Malayan Tapir and more. It is supposed to be an interactive park, allowing visitors many interactions with a large amount of animals (like Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, AZ - also a zoo of a private breeder/dealer). However, it is only set on 25 acres. I am unsure of any land nearby for future expansion. They also tout that they are the largest breeder of Snow Leopards in the World?!
Does this go down as the most inappropriate zoo name ever? What's Tanganyika got to do with snow leopards, white tigers, kookaburra, kangaros, fossa, indian rhino etc? Bizarre. But if the place is any good, it'll be interesting to see a smallish city like Wichita having two major zoos.
Anyone on this site been there? According to their website, they have the country's largest population of both clouded leopards and snow leopards! (I did a quick search of clouded leopards in ISIS, but this facility is not listed). Their site says they had a clouded leopard cub this year, but I'm not sure exactly when. Any firsthand reports from Kansas would be much appreciated!
I have not been there but when I visited the Gulf Breeze zoo in '07 they had a black rhino, Limpopo, on loan from Tanganyika Wildlife park. He is now back at the park.
The manager, Jim Fouts, is a former and well respected member of an AZA accredited institution who has since operated a ranch for breeding endangered species for quite some time now. With the recent relocation and setting up of his new breeding venture under the name TWP he has been able to work closely with several AZA accredited institutions in acquiring endangered species for breeding purposes (e.g. Indian rhino, black rhino, clouded and snow leopards et al).
Fouts acquired the majority of his leopards from the Oakhill Center for Endangered Species closed down a few years ago.
Wow, I didn't know Oakhill had closed - thanks for the update. (But still waiting for a firsthand report...)
There's an AZA-accredited zoo just a few miles from this place whose director would probably offer quite a different description of TWP and its ownership.
I've been a couple times in the past few years as construction was ongoing. I've been curious to see what it would be like all tied together. I just visited the park today with my daughter, and here's a review: On a hot day in July, the parking lot was maybe 35-40% full (roughly 60 cars). No major sign for the entrance. If you'd been driven there blindfolded and got dropped off there in the parking lot, you'd have no idea where you are until you got right up to the ticket booth. 11.99 adults, 7.99 for my daughter. Entering, your line of sight is dominated by two things; 1) a very nice, expansive waterfall of limestone slabs and 2) a huge metal barn surrounded by chainlink fencing. There's a fairly large yard for giraffes and a nice viewing platform that conceivably is for getting up eye-level with the giraffes, but the giraffes aren't in the yard! And really, it doesn't seem like it'd be a good idea to let them out because the waterless moat seems way too shallow to hold them in. They're sequestered behind chainlink near the barn, a good 40-50 yards away. You pass a plank and mesh exhibit of Colobus monkeys and see the Indian Rhino, which has moderate space. There's an empty yard next to the rhino which I think is for black rhinos, but I see no signs. There's also an island-type exhibit for white-handed gibbons. Movng on, we pass a large, walk-through Lorikeet aviary where you can feed the birds for a fee. Next to that area are black mesh cages up against a building that hold kookaburras. Further in the distance, you see animals such as Grevy Zebras and Sables behind chainlink, but you can't get very close to get a good look. They've completed a wood and mesh Red Panda/Clouded Leopard exhibit since my last visit with glass viewing. It seems that there is another large exhibit still under construction that will be for Snow Leopards I'm guessing. Continuing on, there's a couple large bins for kids to pet/feed rabbits and Sulcated Tortoises and a walk-through Red Kangaroo yard. I see a camel with a saddle in the distance...rides for a fee. There's also some goats/miniature donkeys in a yard with mesh large enough for kids to reach through and pet/feed. My daughter's favorite part: a decent little play area with one of the tallest kid's slides I think I've seen anywhere. A big hit for her. Directly across from the playground is an African Penguin exhibit. The only flow I can see in the water is a 1-inch tube spraying some water upward in the middle. The penguins are all hunkered on land under a shade structure next to a cinder block building, which is presumably winter housing. Next is a large island with another cinderblock building in the middle. On either side of this building (east-west) are mesh cages for what appears to be Fossas and lemurs. Then on either end of the building (north-south) are island exhibits for Red-ruffed Lemurs and Ring-tailed lemurs. There's a bridge crossing over to the Ring-tails where an attendant tells me that for a fee, my daughter can feed the lemur a Craisin®. I say no thanks...I never willingly increase the chances of my child receiving a primate bite. Walking back, we pass a large telephone pole & black mesh style cage for a pair of white tigers. As you begin to exit the park, there are several viewing windows next to a concession stand for a "nursery", where there are baby snow leopards, clouded leopards, and lemurs curled up in blankets, etc. with lots of googly-eyed kids and mothers fawning over them. My pamphlet says there's a Honey Badger somewhere, but I didn't see it. Well, that about sums it up. Let's just say, it's waaaay overpriced, especially considering that a ton of the main exhibits they advertise still aren't really completed. It's a curious place to me...clearly, they have money. Yet they have built very plain, unimaginative and utilitarian exhibits, presumably to cut expense. It's all poles and mesh. If they had approached all of their exhibits with the same zeal they apparently had for that big limestone waterfall, then wow, it could really be a nice place. And the landscaping has definitely improved from last year, but there's tons to be desired. Imagine the lanscaping at your local bank or newly constructed shopping center...green yard of grass, a few bushes, and some very young trees. Flowers here and there in cypress mulched sections...I realize these things come with age, and you can't really just start out planting old-growth, mature trees unless you're Disney, but it's really low-average at best. Then add the corrugated metal and cinderblock buildings scattered throughout in plain sight without even an attempt to hide them. Very poor aesthetics for what appears to me to be a private park with more resources than many similary-sized, non-accredited parks. Graphics are the least amount of effort possible...1-3 sentences laminated on a piece of computer printer paper and taped to the glass. Tanganyika sells itself as "Wildly Different" from other zoo experiences you've had. That is, you get to "experience their world" in the form of petting/feeding and walk-through exhibits. But honestly, I didn't see a greater level of petting/feeding opportunities than most other zoos I've been to, except for the lemurs (yeesh!). I have a difficult time ever seeing this place being any kind of significant competition for the Sedgwick County Zoo, but it's definitely no roadside tragedy. The people there seemed to be enjoying themselves, so maybe it does have staying power and a permanent niche.
A great review of a little-known, fairly new establishment. You have many complaints about the basic wood and mesh enclosures, but there are entire nations full of zoos with similar exhibits. It is one thing that I complain about constantly, but then again I am fortunate to live within driving distance of beautiful Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
You know, I've seen some pretty good wood & mesh exhibits. It's not the wood & mesh I necessarily have a problem with, it's the complete lack of interest as to what's inside the wood & mesh. A couple of dead branches and a waterbowl aren't an exhibit.
I know some stuff Ok well i can tell you alot of stuff about this facility, i am employed there and i would like to tell you guys that this year 2010, we have so far had four clouded leopards born so far to 3 different moms, and 5 snow leopards born to three moms, as well as an Amur Leopard born and 5 African Penguin chicks, a baby white handed gibbion, and 2 reticulated giraffes not to forget all the lemurs, roos, zebras, kooks, and warthogs, lol alot of new faces this year. But yes part of it is unfinished, but big exhibits take time and patience especially when you are in competition with sedgwick county, but now the giraffes are in thier yard and you can feed those guys, along with the lorikeets, and we also have halflinger horse rides, and lots of animal ambassadoring, we are currently working on our Warthog exhibit, Malayan Tapir and Indian Rhino Yard the one you thought was for the black rhino, actually had a last minute change and it is going to become a feeding station, so that sets some things back, but it will hopefully be an outstanding attraction, and yes shade and plant growth takes time, but i would love for you guys to come out and visit us. Oh and finally the question about snows and cloudeds, we have 26-27 cloudeds at the moment, exact number gets confusing sometimes with all the babies, and Snows i believe we have 19-20 somewhere in there. It is a truely amazing place, oh and we do now have the snows' cloudeds, and red pandas on display. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Welcome to Zoochat! Great to hear from you! I have been interested in the place for awhile. I guess the first question that jumps out at me is how many Indian Rhinos do you guys have?
We currently have 3 they are all male so they rotate onto display daily, we are trying to acquire a female for breeding but as we all know there is a long waiting list for female rhinos, but who knows, we might get one sooner then we think, we also have one black rhino he is a male, we hope to acquire a female as well for him.
What is their indoor housing like? Do them or the tapirs have any indoor pools? I know some zoos have them, but are they a must when an animal must be indoors for long periods of time. Do you guys still have any cheetahs?
Well no the indoor enclosures were designed, because all the animals were suppose to all be on display everyday, but when other facilities ask us to hold thier rhinos it turns into what it is now, they all do have outside patios and indoor rooms with heated floors, and if space is available some zoos have indoor pools but they are only typically put in when the zoo has the animals on diplay year round even during the winter and people can go in barns but we dont have it like that, we decided to sacrafice people going into the barns so we can keep the indoor rooms large because we dont have that second fence which keeps people out we only have one fence on the inside to keep the animals in you get it? and we are still currently raising money to bring our cheetahs in from south africa.
So what's the weather like during the winter, or and how well to the rhinos and tapirs handle it? I think the last animal number I was wondering were your red pandas. Are you planning on breeding them?
