Chahinkapa Zoo is an zoo in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Opened in 1933 on land that had been purchased in 1903, it is the first zoo built in North Dakota. It is open May through October and by appointment during the winter. It features over 200 animals ranging from

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

apes to Bengal tigers and White rhinos. Chahinkapa Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1995. The zoo lost its accreditation in 2021.

History

Wahpeton purchased the land for Chahinkapa Park from the federal government in 1903. In 1933, the town established a Park Board with R.J. Hughes as director, and started the zoo with just a few animals. In the 1960s, the zoo was moved to its current location, occupying at the North end of Chahinkapa Park. The Chahinkapa Zoo Association was formed in 1974 to help plan and raise money for the zoo, and by 1984 a master plan had been developed. In 1989, the Rodger Ehnstrom Nature Center was opened as the center of educational activity in the zoo. The zoo hired its first director in 1994, and was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 1995. In April 1997, the zoo was flooded, but all animals were safely evacuated and the zoo reopened at the end of May. Subsequently, a levee was constructed to protect the North side of Walpeton (including the zoo) from 500 year flood levels. The zoo was renovated at this time with new exhibits, paths, and a petting zoo.

Animals

The zoo is home to more than 200 animals representing about 100 species. Primates at the zoo include orangutan, white-handed gibbon, black-handed spider monkey, black-and-white ruffed lemur,

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

, crowned lemur, and

cottontop tamarin The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily recogn ...

. Grazing mammals include Bactrian camels, plains zebras, southern white rhinos, llama, alpaca, American bison, Dall sheep, and

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

. Other mammals include Bengal tigers, snow leopards,

fossa Fossa may refer to: Animals * Fossa (animal), the common name of a carnivoran mammal of genus ''Cryptoprocta'' endemic to Madagascar * ''Fossa'', the Latin genus name of the Malagasy civet, a related but smaller mammal endemic to Madagascar Pla ...

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

, river otters, and red kangaroos. Birds at the zoo include

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, red-tailed hawk,

rough-legged hawk The rough-legged buzzard or rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. It ...

, turkey vulture, black vulture, great horned owl,

eastern screech owl The eastern screech owl (''Megascops asio'') or eastern screech-owl, is a small typical owl, owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution, a ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

, Indian peafowl, pheasants, ducks, Australian

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...

s, and peafowl. Reptiles at the zoo include American alligator,

red-tailed boa The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

, Burmese star tortoise, sulcata tortoise, radiated tortoise and

leopard tortoise The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys'', althoug ...

Carousel

The Prairie Rose Carousel is a restored 1926 wood carousel built by Spillman Engineering for Lee Funland in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It has twenty jumping horses arranged in two rows, and two chariots. Music is provided by band organ #125 from the

Johnson Organ Co. Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, itself being an excellent example of a twentieth century Calliope. The carousel is now housed in a climate controlled pavilion.

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Zoos in North Dakota Nature centers in North Dakota Buildings and structures in Richland County, North Dakota Tourist attractions in Richland County, North Dakota Protected areas of Richland County, North Dakota Educational organizations established in 1933 Zoos established in the 1930s Wahpeton, North Dakota 1933 establishments in North Dakota