The animals at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo celebrated Christmas with wrapped presents and holiday cheer. If they also happened to have December birthdays, the staff didn’t forget to mark the occasion, said Zoo Supervisor and Curator Ashley Burdick.
The presents given to bison, lions and arctic foxes may have just been empty boxes with pretty paper, or there may have been a bit of food rattling inside, but the animals tore through the wrapping just as any kid would. In the past, zookeepers have confided that dousing a box in cheap perfume makes it even more exciting. Videos of some of the Christmas action can be found on the zoo’s Facebook page, facebook.com/greatbendzoo.
Other recent videos show two animals celebrating December birthdays with “cakes” suited to their dietary needs. Honey the kinkajou turned 14 years old and Percy the hedgehog turned 5 in December.
Were there Christmas trees, too? Burdick said the zoo does give some of its animals trees that have been taken to the City of Great Bend compost site after the holiday. They find the trees themselves, rather than accepting donations from the public. “There can’t be any leftover garland, (hooks) or ornaments, and we can’t use the trees that have been artificially colored,” she said. “Most of the animals enjoy playing with them, but the cats especially enjoy rubbing on the trees and dragging them around.”
Now that a new year has begun, zoo employees are looking ahead.
“We’re in the process of getting a green tree python from a zoo in Texas,” Burdick said. “And then we will likely try to open our new exhibit in the Raptor Center in the next month or two.” So far, visitors have only been able to view the front portion of the new exhibit, housed in the area previously used for meetings. The zoo is still working on renovations to the old “Ed Shed” building, which will become the new meeting area. Burdick said they hope to have it finished by the summer.
“We’ve also got some plans for some new animals in 2021, more improvements and hopefully a new exhibit!”
