There may not have been actual diamonds at the David Traylor Zoo on Saturday evening but the celebration was a jewel in the zoo’s crown as people came to celebrate its 75th birthday.
The zoo started out as an informal exhibit at Peter Pan Park and evolved into what it is today — a fully accredited zoo that is located at Soden’s Grove Park. The zoo is one of North America’s smallest accredited zoos.
Today’s zoo, one of the few zoos free to the public and contains many exhibits, from foxes to tortoises. The zoo also features lush plantings for guests to enjoy.
In the first 10 minutes of the zoo’s birthday party, 374 people showed up, said Lisa Keith, zoo director.
It wouldn’t be a birthday party without presents. Each guest had the option to bring the zoo presents. A pile accumulated on a table just inside the zoo’s entrance. Keith said presents included toys for the birds, treats for animals and a host of other items, including a hose and shop vacuum.
Throughout the zoo, guests enjoyed activities and special items, including free cupcakes and ice cream and clowns making balloon animals. Kids squealed in delight as they watched animals and ate the treats.
The zoo has come a long way since its humble beginning with an informal exhibit of deer and some monkeys in Peter Pan Park. Monkey Island was a WPA project, said David Traylor, former director and namesake of the zoo. Traylor said the zoo later expanded in the 1950s to include some longhorn steer, some more deer, bison and even a goat, which was taken out of a laundromat in Emporia by a police officer. Other animals such as chickens “showed up” as people would throw them over the fence, Traylor said.
Clearly it was time to do something with the zoo.
Later, Traylor’s interest in the animals was noticed and he was charged with coming up with a plan for the zoo. In the 1970s, the Friends of the Zoo was formed and people came together to form a master plan. The current site of the zoo was at the time a storage area, Traylor said.
Traylor said he knew the zoo was going to be on a small scale but that it could survive. As the zoo took shape, native animals were placed on the east side of the current zoo and other animals of interest were placed inside the west enclosure. Traylor said he knew that whatever animals were placed in the zoo had to be of interest to the public.
Some of the first animals brought in were the eagles. The zoo started with bald eagles then moved to golden eagles, which bred. Offspring were placed in a release program. Later the zoo moved back to bald eagles as the golden eagles became incompatible with each other. Vultures also were added to the exhibit as were several other species that are on the Species Survival Plan. The prairie dog exhibit was dedicated to children of the area.
In the 1980s, a horticulturist was hired for the zoo to bring in plants and landscaping. Traylor said his desire was to have the zoo be an escape for people no matter what walk of life they came from.
AmerBestZoos (anonymous) says...
I haven't seen this nice little zoo yet, but I've heard great things about it. Emporia residents should appreciate, visit, and support their local zoo!
Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America's Best Zoos
August 27, 2009 at 11:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )