WAHPETON, ND (KFGO) – The Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton has been a staple in the community since before the Second World War. They started with a handful of exhibits and have beautifully transformed them into a local zoo that has two goals, education, and conservation.
The Zoo is celebrating 90 years of service to the community in 2023. Zoo Director Kathy Diekman, along with her longtime partner and Zoo Curator Tom Schmaltz have been caring for the zoo themselves for almost 30 years.
“The zoo has been around since 1933. When I was growing up in Breckenridge, Minnesota I remember visiting. They had spider monkeys, a couple of black bears, and Bison,” Diekman said.
“I did some volunteering for the zoo in the early ’90s. After college, I was looking for a job in the animal field and was offered a zookeeper position right here. I found out zoos do so much for conservation, and that was my hope for Chahinkapa,” Diekman added.
Diekman says that they always wanted to have a good plan and priorities when thinking about the future of the Zoo. Whether that was North American, African, or South American Animals. With generous donations and support, the zoo has been able to bring in many amazing animals with the help of scientific partners. None more popular than Talukan, or “Tal”, the Orangutan.
Talukan “Tal” The Orangutan at the Chahinkapa Zoo (Madison Quinn, KFGO)
“We originally had Penguins on our master plan, but that changed when we heard about Tal,” Diekman said. “We knew there was a need to house Orangutans, Their natural habitat is disappearing in the Rain Forest due to deforestation and also illegal poaching. We built our great ape exhibit to hold a family, but Tal came to us as a lone male,” Diekman said. “He is our window to the wild to teach about what is really happening out there,” she added.
The zoo has also added Rhinos to its African Mammals wing. In the wild, Southern White Rhinos are poached for their horns, which fetch around half a million dollars on the black market. With only about 16,000 individuals in the wild, they are considered a near-threatened species. Their cousin, the Northern White Rhino is facing extinction with only 2 females left in the world.
Southern White Rhinos at Chahinkapa Zoo (ND Tourism)
“We built a new zebra exhibit with enough room to house Rhinos as well. We had to put a lot of work in because you need the enclosure to be Rhino strong,” Diekman laughed and said. “Talking about partners, the NDSCS Welding Department showed up to help us finish the project,” Diekman said.
Tigers are also featured at Chahinkapa, and with the pop culture phenomenon that was Netflix’s “Tiger King” lots of people now have a general mistrust of zoos and captivity. Diekman says ‘Tiger King’ did no reputable zoo any favors.
“Tiger King made our jobs harder,” said Diekman. “North Dakota is lucky, we have 4 reputable zoo facilities working for the same causes. Everyone saw Tiger King because it came out during the pandemic, we were all home,” she added.
“If you think that stuff is made up, it’s not. Call it like it is, it’s people doing things they shouldn’t do. And make no mistake about it. There’s no conservation hero in that entire documentary,” Diekman adds. “We’ve met people in our industry that shouldn’t have animals, and we’ve investigated with the feds and helped to shut those places down.”
Bengal Tiger at the Chahinkapa Zoo (Credit: Wahpeton Daily News)
The Chahinkapa Zoo is already looking forward to the possibilities of the future. Giraffes & African Lions are atop the list.
“The plight of the Giraffe has heightened recently so they are on top of the list, as well as African Lions,” Diekman says. “Some people might say we would be cat heavy at the zoo but I think it’s great that we feature so many different big cats from around the world,” she adds.
For local zoos, it all comes down to fundraising. The support of local people coming to the zoo and through donations is how zoos like Chahinkapa can add amazing animals and care for them.
“Some people always ask, ‘Can I donate to the zoo?’. The answer is always yes!” Diekman says. “We’re so grateful for any and all donations”. “Our community is small, and they’re wonderful,” Diekman adds.
Chahinkapa may be a small town zoo, but to the visitors who come through the gates, it’s a portal to the most beautiful and majestic animals on the planet.
