Great Plains Zoo CEO details what’s new for the season and what could be ahead

Jodi Schwan

June 6, 2022

An enhanced home for the black bears, a renovated Americas exhibit and a new bobcat are some of the changes that will await visitors at the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History this summer.

The black bear exhibit has encountered some supply chain-related delays but is on track to open by the end of June, CEO Becky Dewitz said.

“We’re getting close,” she said. “It’s going to just be a more naturalized exhibit for the black bears.”

A glass viewing area is designed for a better visitor experience, and the bears themselves will benefit from better climbing structures, a backyard space and a full renovation of their “bedroom” space, or holding area.

All three of the zoo’s black bears are rescue animals.

“When you see these animals in zoos, it’s because they were getting into a situation where it could have caused human conflict,” Dewitz said.

For this season, the zoo also is renovating its “creepy crawlers” exhibit adjacent to the Asian cats area and changing it into one focused on species from all three Americas: North, Central and South.

“We have some of the animals that will be featured as animals we had behind the scenes, so now they will be in a public-facing exhibit,” Dewitz said. “This has been driven by our zookeeper and animal care team. So it’s been a great internal project we’ve been working on, and the end result shows their care and pride in their work.”

Another new addition at the zoo also was a rescue and now will be getting his own home. Bobby the bobcat was being kept as a pet illegally.

“So he came to us, and we really bonded well, and we decided to keep him and build him an exhibit,” Dewitz said. The bobcat exhibit takes the place of a former anteater exhibit.

All three  additions are expected to be up and operating by the end of the month.

One thing visitors won’t see for now: Birds because of the outbreak of avian influenza.

“Our avian species are inside for their safety,” Dewitz said. “As soon as it’s safe for the animals to go outside, we’ll get them out as soon as possible.”

What’s next

The zoo is moving forward with the design of its new lion exhibit, which also is planned to include a meerkat area, Dewitz said.

The plan is to have it ready to be bid by the end of October for construction next year and opening in 2024.

The zoo also is working on envisioning a renovation for the children’s area, called the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face Farm.

Renderings by TSP

“We have a new design for the children’s farm, and it’s a really great design in the sense that we added a lot of tactile elements to really engage visitors, especially youth,” Dewitz said.

“We want to make sure we’re as accessible as we can be to all people of all ages and all mobilities, so we wanted to design the farm renovation to make sure any children in a wheelchair or otherwise has the exact same valuable experience.”

A timeline for the renovation hasn’t been established, but the zoo is working through the design process with TSP.

The zoo also continues to work through discussions about a potential merger with the Butterfly House & Aquarium, Dewitz said.

“We have officially moved into negotiations at this point in time and are working through what that will mean,” she said. “It is a little bit of a long process, but we are optimistic we will be so much stronger together.”

Activities, events

The zoo’s popular ZooCamp program will be even bigger this year with the addition of 120 spots.

“So we have over 800 spots for camp, and it’s filling up quickly, so if people are interested, I would highly advise to get online and see what we have available,” Dewitz said.

To learn more, click here.

There also are overnight camping options for all ages.

“Staying overnight in the zoo is a fun experience, and we did quite a bit last year,” she said. “We had a lot of great feedback.”

To learn more, click here.

And there are special events coming up:

Flutterfest – June 11

From to 1 to 5 p.m., the zoo is going full-on butterfly with a reading by Joyce Kaatz – author of “Raising Little Stripe,” face painting, crafts, butterfly conservation info – and a chance to help chalk a butterfly forest throughout the zoo. It’s included with the cost of admission.

Zippity Zoo Day – June 25

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., take in what the zoo calls the most magical day of the summer, with inflatables, crafts, animal encounters, face painting and a photo station. It’s $5 for members, with special event admission pricing for others.

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