Sunset Zoo's similarity in name with the neighboring Sunset Cemetery is no coincidence – it sets on land that was deemed too rocky for internment. Dr. E.J. Frick, head of surgery and medicine at Kansas State University School of Veterinary Medicine, began procuring animals in 1933 when he rescued two abandoned Works Progress Administration (WPA) mules and relocated them to graze on the Sunset property. They would become the first exhibits when he officially founded the zoo later that year. With financial backing from local businesses and the assistance of his former students, Dr. Frick continued to head animal acquisitions for the next forty-three years. During that time, Dr. Frick and his students also provided veterinary care. His relationship with the animals was more than professional. His affinity for his charges was personal – it is rumored that Dr. Frick would even load up Satan the bear in his convertible and take him to the drive-in. It should be noted that despite the menacing name, Satan was a personable and well-trained former circus act. The expeditions made him a local legend, but Satan was far from the only famous resident of Sunset Zoo.
A fellow bear named Brownie was a favorite fixture at the zoo from 1968-2009. He was so popular that, after his death, Sunset Zoo accepted remembrances and published seventy-seven of them on their website. Many recounted how guests would attempt to coax Brownie into waving at them and the glee they experienced when he did. It is not uncommon to still hear visitors share memories of Manhattan's beloved bear with their children and out-of-town friends on trip to the zoo. Another august alum was one of Camel Cigarettes' “Joes”. The company kept multiple camels that would tour the country, smoking a pack of cigarettes at a time, lined up and lit like Black Cats. After his retirement from the Camel Company, he resided at Sunset Zoo where he led a much healthier life until sadly, if predictably, he died of lung cancer. The zoo was also host to several live Kansas State University mascots, all named Touchdown, from 1922-1978. While K-State cheerleaders no longer jog a bobcat in a rolling cage around the field after every score, two of them do still call Sunset Zoo home. There is also a current celebrity at the zoo.
A living legend, both in Manhattan and the zoological community, is Susie the chimpanzee. Last year, Susie, at fifty-six years of age, gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Siri – making her the oldest chimpanzee in captivity to become a new mother. This is especially impressive since she was approximately one hundred in “human years!” Sadly, Susie, because of her advanced age, could not produce enough nutrition for her progeny and Siri was moved. Despite the separation, their story has a happy ending. Sunset Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), allowing them to partner with the fellow AZA accredited Oklahoma City Zoo, home to a surrogate chimpanzee troop. There, Siri lives with, and is loved by, a highly trained adopted mother. Susie has continued in Manhattan as the respected matriarch of the Sunset chimp troop, lording over the largest exhibit of its kind in Kansas. She also remains a fan favorite, sitting close to the enclosure window, and even occasionally tapping on the glass in acknowledgment of her guests. As exceptional as Susie's story is, the chimp surrogate program is only one benefit of AZA affiliation.
Sunset Zoo became AZA accredited in 1989. Ever wonder why there is a house at the zoo? One requirement of AZA accreditation is to have a zookeeper on premises at all times. Beyond higher standards of immediate care for animals, the AZA also looks ahead for species' long term survival with breeding plans ensuring genetic diversity – think of it as eHarmony for the zoo set – and monitoring their population in the wild. This network also benefits zoo members; Friends of the Sunset Zoo (FOSZ) not only receive free admission to the zoo and invitations to members-only events here in Manhattan but free or reduced entrance to AZA zoos across the country.
Sunset Zoo has significantly evolved since the 1980's. Besides the AZA accreditation, the zoo also developed a master plan for modernization and began charging a small entrance fee to finance the planned improvements. In keeping with the zoo's motto, “to inspire conservation of the natural world,” much of the limestone construction erected by the WPA under the direction of founder Dr. Frick has been repurposed. What was old is new again, and Brownie's enclosure is being refitted to house the coming Gibbons exhibit. The other construction at the zoo is the new Nature Exploration Center which will not only house a full-time, nature based day care but will act as a ticket booth, year-round gift shop, and provide space for both private and corporate functions. While Kansas State University has remained tied to Sunset Zoo via veterinary care, its partnership has expanded - the zoo is housing two hyenas owned by a K-State professor whose research team collects the animals' saliva to study its antiseptic properties. Sunset Zoo, like the nature it strives to preserve, has always cycled. Whether it's the coincidence of the zoo being founded on mules that were left by the organization that would later construct it, the fact that life has flourished on land once meant for death, or its history of and continued collaboration with Kansas State professors, the zoo has always come full circle.
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