Sara Hamlin is no longer the supervisor and curator of the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo, Great Bend Public Lands Director Scott Keeler said. Keeler is filling in the interim supervisor for the time being.

Hamlin’s departure was official as of Tuesday, Keeler said. He made the announcement to the Great Bend Zoological Society Board Wednesday night.

“We appreciate everything Sara did for the zoo, and her care and treatment of the animals at the facility,” Keeler said, adding he couldn’t expand on her reasons for leaving. “We wish her luck in her future endeavors.”

The application process to fill the opening will begin in the near future, he said. In the meantime, “we will evaluate the needs of the zoo.”

Hamlin graduated from Emporia State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis in Environmental Biology. She started her career at Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City in 2008. After leaving Garden City she did a brief stint at Dallas Zoo and in 2015 moved to Great Bend to join the Brit Spaugh Zoo team.