This week the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo will launch a series called Summer Keeper Talks, Zoo Director Scott Gregory said.

The free programs will be offered three times a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until Labor Day.

Each program is "an informal educational talk about the animals in our collection, and their importance in our environment," Gregory said.

The 10 a.m. program will start at the reptile garden.

At 2 p.m., people can learn more about the cats in the zoo collection, starting at the lion cage.

The final talk of the day will start at 4 p.m. by the enclosure for the black bears. "This talk will be about the various North American animals in our collection and their importance," Gregory said.