Three grizzly bears at Great Bend’s Brit Spaugh Zoo turned 1 year old in January, and have been good companions to Max, the older bear in the grizzly exhibit, Zoo Director Scott Gregory said Monday.
Last October, Gregory announced plans to receive two grizzly bears and two lions, also born in January of 2013, from the Living Treasures Animal Park at Donegal, Pa. The bears – two females and one male – were actually triplets, but one was destined for another zoo, originally. The plans changed, and about a week after driving to Pennsylvania to pick up the animals, Gregory said he was planning another trip for the third bear.
Once the young animals were ready to move to Brit Spaugh Zoo’s exhibit areas, they had to share space with adult animals, yet remain separated for their safety. At first, that meant keeping some animals indoors while others were allowed outside. On alternate days, the bear cubs played outside while Max stayed in, or the lion cubs were outside and the adults were in.
But the young bears liked being out so much, it was hard to get them to take turns, Gregory said. So, under the careful eye of zoo staff, the youngsters and the older bear were allowed to share their outdoor space at the same time.
“They haven’t stopped playing since we put them together,” Gregory said. Max suffers from arthritis but seems to enjoy letting the kids climb on him. He’s become a kind of father figure.

Update on lions
The new male lion’s sister died in January, a short time after she was spayed, a routine operation.
“There were no complications with the spay,” Gregory said. The lion woke up after the operation and seemed to be fine, but a short time later she stopped breathing.
A necropsy was performed and several abnormalities, unrelated to the surgical procedure, were found.
Tissue samples were forwarded to Kansas State University for analysis. Gregory said but there was nothing conclusive in the findings.
“It’s never good to lose an animal,” Gregory said.
Meanwhile, the young male lion now shares the outdoor space with the adult female. On alternating days, the adult male and the adult female get to go outside.