Dodge City ? Elvira lies sprawled out on a slab on concrete. It’s a cold winter morning, and steam is rising from Elvira’s nostrils as she lets out a deep rumble. But she’s moving a bit slower. Her fur coat looks a bit more worn.

The 16-year-old Siberian tiger is getting older.

So is Jumper, the 9-year-old North American bobcat.

The cougar at Wright Park Zoo died of old age this past December. So did the barn owl. The tiger is 18, three years past its normal life expectancy.

A large portion of the zoo’s animal population is aging, which leaves zookeeper Tony Hornberger wondering what his staff is going to do to maintain the zoo’s exhibits.

“I’ve made calls to other zoos and wildlife departments around the state,” he said. “I’ve sent out a letter to Colorado Springs’ zoo, because I heard they may have some extra animals.”

Hornberger, who has been the zookeeper for slightly more than a year, said he’s still learning what channels he can go through to keep Dodge City’s zoo an interesting place.

The zoo has agreements with others in the area that they will trade animals needed for certain exhibits, said Parks and Recreation director Paul Lewis, whose department oversees the zoo’s operations.

For example, if the Great Bend Zoo needed a bison, Lewis said the Wright Park Zoo would trade a bison for a bobcat.

“It’s the exotic animals that are the hardest to find,” he said.

A Siberian tiger like Elvira, who is nearing the end of her life expectancy (tigers usually live between 15 to 20 years), would cost around $2,500.

If Wright Park Zoo, a United States Department of Agriculture-certified zoo, wanted to purchase new animals, it would be free to do so, said Jessica Milteer, spokeswoman for the USDA.

Whatever plans the zoo may have, the issue boils down to funding.

City Clerk Nannette Pogue said the zoo is given $10,000 each year, which is then used for capital improvements. In the past, she said the money has been used for projects such as improving the petting zoo and building a new aviary.

Lewis said those who work with the zoo have drawn up preliminary plans to not only improve existing exhibits but expand the attraction. But, he said, $10,000 a year wasn’t going to cut it.

“There are no concrete plans, but we’ve come up with some things,” he said. “Now, if we could ever come up with the funding.”