By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Try as they may, staff at the Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend could not get Luke, a male lion, to get along with female lions Amana and Sauda. The result was a constant switch of the groups in the one existing exhibit. Zoo Curator Ashley Burdick said the Great Bend Zoological Society is helping staff create a second lion exhibit to allow all the cats more time outdoors and increase safety for zookeepers.
"We are just waiting for the fencing to be finished on it," Burdick said. "They just have the gates to get in and out for a vehicle and a keeper to finish up on there, and then we have to add a little bit of dirt work and some hot wire, then it should be ready. We will have to add some sidewalk and some public fencing around the area. My hope is that, by spring, we'll have it fully ready for people to come see it."
Enzo the tamandua arrived at the zoo in late 2021 but has remained largely off-exhibit. Last December, the zoo received a temporary guest in the form of a Lucia, a two-toed sloth from Wright Park Zoo in Dodge City. They could also make a more public appearance in 2024 as the weather heats up.
"Part of our money for the qualify of life tax, our hope is to use that this year to open that area up for the public so that, this summer, when it's warmer for those two to be out, people can see them in their exhibit," said Burdick.
Between 2023 and 2031, the zoo will be allocated $30,000 each year from the qualify of life sales tax. That amounts to $270,000 over the nine-year period.