A New Spotlight of Kansas’ State Animal- Hutch Zoo’s new American Bison exhibit
The Hutchinson Zoo unveiled its newest expansion Friday, an extension to the American Bison exhibit and a new viewing and feeding area for the bison, deer and pronghorn. These new areas provide unique interactions with Kansas’ state animal for the first time at the zoo.
The new exhibit currently holds a herd of seven bison, while most American zoos usually only hold three bison at a time. Nicole Mantz, the zoo director, said the Hutch Zoo is able to care for more animals than most due to the extra space and three separate pins the zoo constructed during this new expansion.
Norman, an 18-year-old bison, was donated to the zoo back in 2021 by the new exhibit’s main benefactor Dan Powers. Though Powers wasn’t at the event, Scott Conklin, the president of the Friends of the Zoo, explained Powers’ love for American Bison and further explained that he donated a majority of the funds for the expansion. The project cost around $200,000 and architecture was done by the Professional Engineering Consultants company out of Wichita.
Powers donated around $103,000, and the Friends of the Zoo raised the remaining funds to finish construction.
The project began in 2021 when Norman arrived at the zoo. Major planning began in September and October of 2021 with full approval from Hutchinson organizations in January of 2022. Construction finished in late 2023 and early 2024 so the zoo has been eager to open the new expansion as soon as they could according to Mantz.
She further explained the importance of the exhibit, stating their main hope is to promote the conservation of the plains, as bison play an important role in Kansas and their population has decreased dramatically in the last century. She also said Carey Park was historically the first place bison settled in Hutchinson, making closer access to them an even more unique experience.
The new viewing area also allows for new access to an additional exhibit containing whitetail deer, mule deer and pronghorn. Pronghorn are particularly interesting as they are the fastest land animal in the United States, reaching running speeds of up to sixty miles per hour.
Most Bison live a life span of around 18-20 years. Norman, the newest addition, is eighteen and at the zoo to live out the rest of his life. After arrival, it was found that he was terminally ill and in the last few years of his life. The other eldest bison is Sue, the grandmother to the other five bison at the zoo besides Norman. She is 24 and has long outlived her expected lifespan due to the care she has received. Her parents were originally members of the Bronx Zoo’s conservation program to revive the American Bison population, which began in 1905.
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