Wichita ? It’s spring, and across the state, baby animals are opening their eyes and taking their first steps on Kansas soil. These babies tell stories about their species and promote awareness.

In one week at Garden City’s Lee Richardson Zoo, three lion cubs less than a month old were given their first physical examinations.

A baby chimp born last fall at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan is a crowd-pleaser. But little Nia is more than that, said Scott Shoemaker, the Sunset Zoo’s director. “She is genetically very valuable and another animal in a population that’s declining,” he said.

The Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure near Salina, which boasts more than 100 species of wildlife, many of them endangered, has only two babies this spring.

They are orphaned possums rescued last week. “Possums do not need help, but every once in a while, something comes your way and you take it in,” said Kathy Tolbert, Rolling Hills director.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park near Goddard has baby kangaroos, giraffes, lemurs and 15 more species expecting, said Matt Fouts, assistant director.

The Sedgwick County Zoo has babies in the children’s petting zoo — goats and Scottish Highland calves, said Christan Baumer, zoo spokeswoman. It also has a baby giraffe and baby wallaroo.

The baby animals sometimes help zoo officials tell stories about the need to let some animals remain in the wild. “This is the time we start getting calls about people finding baby bunnies in the yards and wanting to bring them to the zoo,” Garden City’s Sexton said. “We try to discourage that.”