Kewaunee County Bruemmer Park and Zoo

About Kewaunee County Bruemmer Park and Zoo

Bruemmer Park Zoo is a small zoo inside Bruemmer Park, a Kewaunee County park west of the city of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The zoo's address is E4280 County Road F, Kewaunee, WI 54216. Wikipedia describes the park as having wooded trails along the Kewaunee River, sitting on the Niagara Escarpment, and containing limestone kiln remnants from early limestone production. The zoo itself is described as a small collection of North American animals and at least three exotic species.

The zoo is a Kewaunee County facility, and Dave Myers, the county's Promotion and Recreation director, has been quoted in local news about exhibit projects. The Zoological Society of Kewaunee County, known as ZSKC, is a nonprofit whose stated purpose is to promote interest in and support of the zoo, and it raises money for zoo improvements.

As listed on the zoo's website, admission is free, although donations are welcome. The website gives the hours as 7 a.m. to sunset, year round, and states that pets are not allowed in the zoo or the park.

History

The park was named in 1930 in honor of Louis Bruemmer, a Kewaunee County judge, according to NBC 26. Leo Bruemmer and Otto Bruemmer were Louis Bruemmer's sons, and a grandson of Leo, Steve Bruemmer, made donations to the zoo that NBC 26 reported in 2021. WBAY reports that the zoo first opened in the 1930s and has offered free admission all year.

NBC 26 described a planned pheasant exhibit in 2021 as the first new exhibit at the zoo in decades. That project was supported by a matching donation from a member of the Bruemmer family and by county funds, with support from the Board of Supervisors and ZSKC. The zoo's master plan page shows a new pheasant exhibit and newly paved walkways in front of the exhibits.

In December 2020, local coverage reported that a donation from Steve Bruemmer would fund four life-size animal statues, an elephant, a lion, a rhinoceros, and a zebra, to be installed in spring 2021 in a green space with savanna-style vegetation and cedar split-rail fencing. The same green space holds Melvin, a metal giraffe sculpture made by Mike Remme of Kewaunee RV and Campground. WBAY described Melvin as a 20-foot, 800-pound sculpted metal giraffe when it was unveiled in 2018 at an event celebrating a new bobcat enclosure. The zoo's master plan page refers to a lion statue in an African Statue Garden.

At that June 2018 event, WBAY reported that the bobcats Baxter and Isabella had moved into a new exhibit roughly twice the size of the old one. ZSKC president Pam Zander said the pen renovations completed to that point had been paid for by donations, with no grants and no county money.

Exhibits and habitats

Wikipedia's species list for the zoo names white-tailed deer, bobcats, domestic goats, arctic foxes, Indian peafowl, domestic geese, and several pheasants. The pheasants listed are silver, ring-necked, golden, Lady Amherst's, and Reeves's pheasants, along with Temminck's tragopan. The zoo's website features a recording of its silver pheasant. The site also offers downloadable coloring pages, and its master plan mentions a rain garden created with Kewaunee 4-H.

The pheasant exhibit is described on the master plan page as brand new. The page also shows newly paved walkways in front of the exhibits and a donor and memory wall.

Conservation and programs

The ZSKC's stated mission is to provide an educational opportunity to all visitors of Bruemmer Park Zoo, stressing an understanding of and respect for all living things, and to promote a dignified and aesthetically pleasing environment for the animals. It is a 501(c)(3) corporation organized for charitable and educational purposes, governed by a board with a president, a vice-president, a treasurer/secretary, and six board members. Members are those who pay annual dues and vote at the annual meeting in February. The society's website says it holds public meetings at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Kewaunee County Highway Shop across from the park and zoo.

The society's fundraising events include Zoobilee and ZoupArt. The zoo's Zoobilee page says all kids' activities are free, and lists a burger and brat fry featuring the ZooBurger, an art and craft fair, and a car show. ZoupArt is a soup tasting held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the fairgrounds in Luxemburg, Wisconsin, with raffles and a student art silent auction. All proceeds benefit the zoo, according to the zoo's website.

The zoo's main planned project is an Environmental Education Center. A fundraising letter posted on the zoo's website says the Kewaunee County Board committed funding in its 2026 budget and that the society was about 85 percent of the way to its goal, with construction hoped to begin in 2026. The letter lists a veterinary room, a food preparation area, a classroom, indoor exhibits, and new restroom facilities. Wikipedia says potential future species include grey wolves, American black bears, and prairie dogs.

Planning your visit

The zoo's website lists the hours as 7 a.m. to sunset year round and admission as free, with donations appreciated. Pets are not permitted in the zoo or the park. Questions can go to the zoo at (920) 388-0444 or info@bruemmerparkzoo.com.

According to Wikipedia, the park around the zoo has wooded trails and borders the Kewaunee River.