Fire Prevention Week observances in Wichita begin today, with a fire safety education fair at Old Cowtown, 1865 Museum Blvd ... The fair, which begins at 9 a.m., will allow area grade school students to learn about fire safety, watch a rescue demonstration and practice an escape out of a smoke-filled room. Students will also be able to tour the sites of Old Cowtown ... All fifth-grade students throughout the city and county and surrounding areas are invited to attend a fire prevention adventure
WICHITA — Vivienne isn't just any donkey ... She's a Poitou, whose heritage traces back to ancient France, according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy ... She's also a new addition to the Sedgwick County Zoo's Children's Farm American Barn ...
Even though the temperature hadn't risen to its eventual high of 107, ... Devin, a grizzly bear at the Sedgwick County Zoo, started cooling off early Tuesday morning ... As Devin swam around his pool and chased a frozen piece of watermelon dropped in by a zookeeper, other zoo animals nestled up to fans and misters to keep cool ... Tuesday was the hottest day yet this year but failed to break the record of 113 degrees set in 1954 ...
At age 78 and tipping the scales at 609 pounds, Rocket is a ladies' man — as far as tortoises go ... Within the month, Rocket will be headed across the Kansas border in search of a bigger pad and lost love ... The Sedgwick County Zoo's most iconic Aldabra tortoise — commonly known as the giant tortoise — has grown too big for the zoo's 1970-era amphibian and reptile building ... Rocket is not only leaving Wichita, where he's lived for 40 years, but also leaving his tortoise friends Speed,
People headed to the Sedgwick County Zoo today and Saturday can help a good cause during their visit ... With schools out and people on vacation and the resulting reduction in blood drives, it can be a challenge to keep donations flowing, said Jennifer Keller, communications manager for the Red Cross's Central Plains Region ... So the Red Cross tries to make donating easy with blood drives such as ... the current one at the Sedgwick County Zoo, she said ... The Red Cross is operating a three-day
SEDGWICK COUNTY ZOO'S OTTER PUPS ... It's tough learning to dog paddle -- let alone swim like an otter ... The pupils are hesitant. But Selah is persistent ... Since Sunday, the river otter at the Sedgwick County Zoo has been teaching her four babies, born March 26, to turn and twirl and use their tails as rudders when they swim ... She has even grabbed a reluctant baby otter and pulled it by the scruff of its neck to teach it to dive underwater, said senior keeper, Brian Helten ...
Officials at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita are getting rid of blue sno-cones after a mix-up involving commercial degreaser ... Four people became ill Thursday when a zoo employee poured a degreasing agent into the sno-cone machine instead of flavored syrup ... The two bottles are the same size, shape and color and accidentally got stocked next to each other. A zoo spokeswoman said the employee didn't read the labels and apologized to families who got sick ... None of the victims ingested
The Sedgwick County Zoo's new Slawson Family Tiger Trek exhibit will have its grand opening beginning at 10 a.m. today ... It will be the first time the public will be able to see the exhibit's two Malayan and two Amur tigers as they pounce, play and soak up the sun ... Prizewinners in the zoo's naming contest for the tigers will be announced. The ceremony will also include comments from Mark Reed, the zoo's director; Sedgwick County Commissioner David Unruh; and donors Don and Judy Slawson ...