I have been to tons of Zoo's, mostly all paid admission. I've also been to free admission Zoo's. Out of every zoo both paid and free, the KC Zoo was by FAR the worst I have ever experienced.
The "habitats" for the animals are not habitats at all, more like holding spaces. The orangutans are in a cinder block room, there are birds without flying room or any room for the matter that are SUPPOSED to fly 300+ miles a day, there is a polar bear with a depressingly small pool and a few rocks in some grass. It doesn't take much to see how depressed and lifeless the animals were. There are multiple experiences where the public can touch animals. If felt horrible. There was a Tiger who would non-stop pace by a hole in its enclosure where an endless amount of visitors would go and "say hi" to it. There was a gorilla laying FACE DOWN in a corner of a concrete wall. Tortoises who were so thirsty, that 4 were crowding around a small pool of water that wasn't dried up yet in their enclosure. There were sheep who looked horrible, all dirty and crusted and lifeless, stood standing in a makeshift "barn" enclosure. The fish tanks were small, and a large ball python had MAYBE 40 gallons to move around. There's a bridge with a small "river" you can walk over that houses hundreds of turtles, various kinds of fish, and any other wildlife streams house. Tons of patrons would throw food into the river; popcorn, bread, candy, etc... Turtles would quickly eat these things, but this doesn't really seem to strike a chord of concern within the Kansas City Zoo.
This Zoo charges around $20 for each adult general admission ticket. With at least 200+ visitors a day, one would assume enough revenue is generated to give these animals the proper habitats and resources they need. But this is not observable. I honestly won't recommend this space to anyone I know, and I hope this review is found helpful. I am sure the staff they have tries their best to care for their animals as observed in the Zoo's previously formatted response, but the organization itself needs to be serious. Run a conducive and reparative sanctuary where wild animals can be saved and helped.
