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Prior to the zoo's opening, a campaign with the slogan "Boo Hoo, We Need A… New Zoo" was created by Fran Kentling of The Wichita Eagle and the Sedgwick County Zoological Society in 1963 in an attempt to get a new zoo for Wichita. In 1967, 3 years after the campaign ended, the Sedgwick County Commission placed it as a bond issue on the general ballot, which was to purchase the land to become what is today the zoo as well as the Sedgwick County Park to the west.

The zoo first opened on August 25, 1971, being located in what used to be a milo field, with the zoo initially having only 117 animals and American and Asian farms exhibits.

Then, in 1974, the Herpetarium opened, and was later renamed Amphibians & Reptiles. 3 years later, in 1977, the Jungle opened, with the zoo earning two Bean Awards from the AZA for breeding Green tree pythons and Arrow-poison frogs for the first time in captivity. It would later be renovated and renamed the Tropics in 2015, and now includes over 170 species of birds.

Next, in 1980, the South American Pampas and Australian Outback opened, and are connected into one walkthrough space, and include wallaroos, emus, Squirrel monkeys, and Giant anteaters alike. The Apes & Man exhibit (now known as the Koch Orangatan & Chimpanzee Habitat) opened in 1982, and was built to show the similarities of great apes and humans.

Next came the North American Prairie in 1993, which features animals such as elk, grizzly bears, black bears, bison, cougars, and black-tailed prairie dogs.

The year 2000 brought the zoo a new habitat for the lions, known as the Pride of the Plains, which also made the way for new species such as the red river hogs, African painted dogs, and meerkats, with the lions' exhibit made through funding by the Junior League of Wichita.

On July 23, 2004, the Downing Gorilla Forest opened to the public, with a then-record being made in annual attendance, with 591,687 visitors.



In 2007, the Cessna Penguin Cove opened, and features Humboldt penguins, gray gulls, and Inca terns on a rocky exhibit mimicing the Peruvian coast.

On May 6, 2011, an incident occured when a first-grade student on a class field trip climbed over a four-foot fence and then crossed the eight-foot gap of the Amur leopard exhibit. The boy was attacked, and 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.

On May 27, 2016, the Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley officially opened to the public after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with then-zoo director Mark Reed commenting, “This was the largest project that has ever been taken on by your Sedgwick County Zoo in this community. This is the best elephant exhibit in North America and it exceeded all our expectations.” It later won second place in a USA Today Readers' Choice award for 'Best Zoo Exhibit' in 2019.

As of June 2021, the zoo is currently making a new elephant management complex, as well as some new additions to the Amphibians and Reptiles building. They also have been expanding and moving the majority of exhibits, and planning on adding a lodge, water park, and savannah exhibit. A new entrance for the zoo opened on May 27, 2021.