WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – At Wednesday’s meeting of the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners, the commission voted to submit a grant application for the construction of a new elephant barn at the Sedgwick County Zoo .

The grant request is for just under $5 million.

There are five pregnant elephants at the zoo and the county commission voted to support an attempt to expand the elephant facilities to make room for the new calves. Elephants are due to give birth next yearwhile the first will probably arrive in early spring.

In its agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, the county said the cost of the Elephant Boma project is estimated at just under $10 million, and the county has committed to providing $2.5 million of funding for the project. The remaining money is being sought through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the acquisition of additional funds by the Sedgwick County Zoological Society.

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