Children of the staff at Harper Camperland in Great Bend greeted representatives from the Golden Belt Humane Society and the Brit Spaugh Zoo on Thursday, presenting each with a $5,000 check from the business and its owners, Dan and Alicia Lear.
“Camperland wanted to give back to the community, and we chose these two organizations,” Dan Lear said.
Bobbi King, president of the Golden Belt Humane Society, said, “This comes at a very good time. It will help us continue to feed all the animals and shelter them.”
Great Bend’s Zoo Director Scott Gregory and Curator Marge Bowen said the $5,000 gift from Camperland will most likely be earmarked for animal rehabilitation at the Raptor Center. After a golden eagle suffering from a gunshot wound was found near Timken, it came to the Great Bend center and underwent an expensive surgery, Gregory said. Since then, two bald eagles shot with BBs in Barton County have also come to the Raptor Center for rehabilitation. Injuring any of these birds is a crime and authorities are investigating, Gregory noted.
The zoo also had a recent fundraiser, “Bowling for Raptors,” at Walnut Bowl that brought in over $800, Gregory said.