Lee Richardson Zoo

History

Finnup Park was established by a donation of 105 acres (42 ha) of land to the city by George Finnup. The zoo was started in 1927 by the city and the local chapter of the Izaak Walton League, with two skunks brought in by Lee Richardson, who was Chief of Police and Park and founder and Zoo Superintendent at the time. The zoo was formally named for Lee Richardson in 1950, just a year before he died.

The Lee Richardson Zoo is a department of the City of Garden City.

Exhibits

North American Plains

This section of the zoo includes "Kansas Waters" with its river otters and the "Swift Fox" exhibit, which both opened in 2005, as well as pronghorn, elk, and bison.

South American Pampas

The South American Pampas exhibit includes maned wolf, anteaters, alpaca, tapir, and rhea. Flamingos are housed next to this exhibit.

Aviary

The "Marie Osterbuhr Aviary" was opened in 1985. It includes a large open air flight cage that is home to the kookaburras, Mandarin ducks, doves, as well as four indoor displays that are home to species including burrowing owls.

Cat Canyon

Cat Canyon opened in 2012 and houses the zoo's cougars, jaguars, and bobcats.

Pachyderms

The Pachyderm exhibit houses African elephants. The two elephants currently at the zoo arrived in 2006.

Down Under

Down Under is home to the zoos Australian animals, including emus and a breeding herd of red kangaroo.

African Plains

The African Plains area consists of two large open yards designed to look like the African Savannah, and includes addax, and East African crowned cranes. This section also includes giraffes, rhinos, and lions.

Wild Asia

The Wild Asia exhibit opened in 1998, and includes siamangs, red pandas, Bactrian camels, snow leopards, Amur leopards, goral, takin, a pair of sloth bears, along with an Asian farm that includes sheep, and chickens.