Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo

Get Wild

at Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo

Open year-round (except Christmas and Th anksgiving days) from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Great Bend’s Brit Spaugh Zoo is fun and educational — and admission is free!

Th e zoo is dedicated to the conservation, preservation and rescue of animals and to the education and entertainment of children and adults. Th e zoo staff also treats wounded birds of prey, known as raptors.

Recent improvements

In 2021 the zoo opened a new exhibit inside its main building, Th e Raptor Center. It features 26 small animals, including those that were previously housed in the Education Building, as well as freshwater and saltwater aquariums. Th e new exhibit provides an improved viewing experience for visitors and better environmental control for the animals. Meanwhile, the “Ed Shed” is undergoing renovation and will eventually return to its original purpose as a room for educational programs, meetings and parties. (Top) Capybaras are the largest species of rodents on Earth. (Left) Toby is the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo’s African Leopard.

Outdoors, construction was fi nished on the Bill McKown Memorial Pavilion, a handicap accessible gazebo located next to a freshwater pond. Visitors can enjoy this shaded area and feed the fi sh and waterfowl.

A sidewalk was added around the reptile building where the tortoises and larger snakes are housed. Zoo Supervisor and Curator Ashley Burdick noted that this much-needed improvement now allows better accessibility for those in wheelchairs and strollers.

New animals

A long-awaited addition arrived in 2020, when the bison exhibit opened. Like the grizzly bear exhibit that opened in 2018, this modern addition was made possible with a grant from the Dorothy M. Morrison Foundation. In 2020, the zoo added a two-dimensional, 7.5-foot tall bear sign near the exhibit to illustrate how big grizzly bears can be.

Other new animals added in 2021 include a green tree python, a pot-bellied pig, an axolotl (a relative of the tiger salamander), and two capybaras — the largest rodent species on Earth. Ashley Burdick, supervisor rdick, supervisor and curator at the Great Bend or at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo, is shown in gh Zoo, is shown in front of the new display area, e new display area, which opened in 2021. ened in 2021.

EXPLORE OUR FREE ZOO

FREE ADMISSION 2123 MAIN STREET GREAT BEND, KS OPEN 9AM-4:30 DAILY