VOX
05.23.13
M A G A Z I N E
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THE VOICE OF COLUMBIA
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Modest menageries Take a visual safari at two offbeat Missouri zoos
Where the WILD things are
Two zoos bring exotic wildlife to southwestern Missouri Photos and story by Rachel English
W
ithin a few hours of Columbia, you can feed a giraffe from the window of a bus or watch from just feet away as a lion eats its dinner. The Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield and the Wild Animal Safari in nearby Strafford are small in comparison to other Missouri zoos, such as the Kansas City Zoo or the Saint Louis Zoo, which boasts 19,000 animals to Dickerson’s more than 600. But these attractions are rich in character and interaction. Located on more than 250 acres, the Wild Animal Safari offers guests the chance to get up close and personal with the animals. A bus tour gives visitors an experience particular to this zoo. Visitors see exotic cattle, deer, ostriches and more out of the windows of the Wild Animal Safari bus, all while listening to a tour guide tell jokes over the sound system. There is also a walk-through portion where exotic and petting zoo animals exist in close quarters. An amazing symphony of animal calls can be heard while walking along the path of the grounds. Macaws cry out, and the ring-tailed lemurs, the New Guinea singing dog and the tigers all answer in unison. The Dickerson Park Zoo opened in 1923 and has since attracted visitors to the southwestern part of the state with a variety of exotic animals and a showcase of species native to Missouri. Dickerson Park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums but functions on a smaller budget and with fewer employees than larger zoos. In just a few hours perusing the parks, visitors might see workers examining a hippopotamus’ jaw, building a fence and training spider monkeys. Differing by about 50 miles of driving time as going to St. Louis or Kansas City from Columbia, these quaint spots let visitors see and interact with animals in a way their larger Missouri counterparts don’t. At Wild Animal Safari you can throw treats out the window, and at Dickerson Park Zoo you can stand eye to eye with giraffes on elevated decks. The zookeepers who maintain these animal dwellings love what they do. Whether you expect to see someone interacting with a baboon in Missouri or not, the bonds formed between animals and people at these zoos is evident to all who visit.
\\\ On the cover: A peacock walks past the gift shop at the Wild Animal Safari in Strafford. The zookeepers allow the peacocks to roam free through the park.
\\\ Sheldon, a 2-year-old giraffe, bucks along the fence line at the Wild Animal Safari in Strafford. Sheldon is an adolescent giraffe and often bucks either from 05.23.13 • VOXMAGAZINE.COM 9 anxiety or excitement.
\\\ Zookeeper Sondra Morgan feeds Felix the baboon while standing at the front desk of the Wild Animal Safari. Morgan took Felix home with her at night for the first few weeks of his life to acclimate him to human interaction.
\\\ A Sahiwal cow follows the tour bus through the Wild Animal Safari grounds. The bus tour is about an hour long and meanders through 250 acres. These grounds are home to many kinds of cattle, deer, zebras and camels, who often follow the bus to eat grain food pellets that visitors can buy in the gift shop and throw out the bus windows.
\\\ Tracy Campbell peeks through the doors of the giraffe enclosure at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. Campbell and the other zookeepers pay close attention to the giraffe calf whose mother died on Feb. 17, one day after giving birth.
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\\\ A behind-the-scenes photo shows Ade, the only male lion at the Dickerson Park Zoo, watching a zookeeper prepare his dinner of raw horse meat. When he’s not eating, Ade roams in a natural exhibit outside. You’re likely to catch him sleeping, though, as big cats spend up to 20 hours a day snoozing.
\\\ Liberty, known as Libby, a black bear cub, looks up at zookeeper Sondra Morgan while guests photograph her at the Wild Animal Safari. Morgan takes Liberty out of her enclosure for daily walks around the park’s grounds.
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\\\ Patience, an Asian elephant, reaches her trunk over the top of her enclosure in search of treats. It is estimated that she was born in 1974, making her about 39 years old. She is one of five elephants at the Dickerson Park Zoo.
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