Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center | Giraffe & Friends

In March of 2023 the Giraffe and Friends habitat was constructed at the Topeka Zoo and is the final phase of the Camp Cowabunga experience. Honoring the lifetime of African exploration by Director Emeritus Gary Clarke, one of the four founders of AZA. The habitat surrounds guests with lions, painted dogs and patas monkey yards on one side and adds reticulated giraffe, lesser kudu, ostrich, grey crowned crane, and Thomson’s gazelle through an expansive mixed-species savanna environment around the opposite side.

The habitat features retaining walls and elevated walkways, providing year-round, open-air views of the giraffes, with feeding stations both inside and out. The state-of-the-art barns offer full access to a series of dayrooms, maternity stalls, and shifts, with natural substrate flooring, providing the animals with a variety of spaces and enrichment activities to choose from. Lastly, the Group Entry Plaza offers a gathering spot for school field trips and special after-hour events at the Zoo. The Giraffe and Friends habitat is a key feature of the Camp Cowabunga experience, offering enhanced guest experience, three new barns designed for animal welfare, and a playroom, maternity room, training suite, indoor and outdoor feeding platform for the giraffes.

Key Features:  

• Phased implementation from Master Plan  

• Enhanced guest experience 

• Three new barns designed for animal welfare. 

• Giraffe barn features; Playroom, Maternity room, Training suite, Indoor and outdoor feeding platform