The Jungle has a waterfall and two levels of flying, walking, crawling and swimming creatures One of my favorite parts of the Wichita Zoo is the Jungle building. It is filled with life and a great place to slow the pace of a zoo visit and sit and watch the wildlife around you. I particularly enjoy the Giant Indian Fruit Bats. The large bats (many over a foot long) look particularly big when they extended their wings to fly. It is nothing creepy like watching and being close to small bats. When they moved around the trees it alternately reminded me of monkeys and sloths. I guess there are only so many ways to hang. I quickly learned to not stand under them and have seen people hit on the head by falling guano.
The Downing Gorilla Forest at the Sedgwick County Zoo provides two different experiences. The first is Nganda Island, a tiny fishing village and meeting place on the outskirts of the forest. On Nganda Island, you prepare to see the gorillas, while watching tropical African animals living near the village. There is also a village playground and refreshment stand with outdoor seating. From the Nganda Island village, you cross a bouncy, 50' suspension bridge into the Downing Gorilla Forest Reserve, where you encounter the okapi (a relative of the giraffe), the bongo (a large antelope), and large exotic birds. Finally you enter the building which has both a large room where the largest apes live and can be seen up close; and the viewing area where you are confined while a bachelor group of lowland gorillas roam the land around you. Hop on a Conservation Cruise and float by Pelican Island, under the Downing Gorilla Forest Bridge, to the North American Prairie, and back to see the Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley ($5).
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