Kansas City, Mo ? Mark Wourms, director of the Kansas City Zoo, has resigned so the struggling animal park can hire a more business-minded leader in hopes of boosting flagging attendance.

Zoo attendance has dropped steadily the past few years, down from 715,000 in 1998 to 425,000 last year. The zoo has been losing money and was forced to borrow against a “founder’s fund.”

James E. Stowers III, president of the Friends of the Zoo board, praised Wourms’ passion for animals and conservation but said the zoo needed to be equally attentive to its human guests.

Wourms, formerly of New York’s Bronx Zoo, became director of the Kansas City Zoo in 1992 and oversaw the park’s expansion to include Australian- and African-themed areas after voters approved a bond issue to fund the projects.

Wourms and Stowers said the resignation came by mutual agreement.

“I fought the good fight for this institution and for this community,” Wourms said. “And I’m extremely proud of the staff that’s been developed, and I’m proud of the changes that have occurred. But I also believe that this has to be a wholehearted effort for the next five to 10 years, and I’m not sure I was ready to commit to that.”

Visitors have complained that the zoo is too spread out and doesn’t have enough animals.

The zoo announced in February that it would acquire as many as 300 new animals and enhance some of its exhibits.

A new tram, a new boat ride and a new jitney service also will make it easier this year for visitors to get to and around the 96-acre African area.

The changes followed a consultant’s warning last fall that the zoo needed to change its focus on education and natural settings, the principles that guided the $71 million makeover in the 1990s.