Homepage / Kansas City News
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news and daily headlines.
Browse all e-mail newsletters
Related To Story

Man Complains About Buddhas At KC Zoo

Overland Park Man Calls Statues 'Infuriating To God'

POSTED: 11:21 am CST January 14, 2009
UPDATED: 1:23 pm CST January 14, 2009

The Kansas City Zoo has received a complaint about Buddha statues in an Asian-themed area.

David Engle, of Overland Park, Kan., complained after visiting the zoo on Sunday. He said it's "phenomenal to me" that the zoo would put up two smiling statues of Buddha when "we can't have a cross or a nativity scene on public property."

Engle, who said he is Christian, called the statues idolatry and "infuriating to God."

Buddha is the name ascribed to Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

Randy Wisthoff, zoo director since 2003, said he has never heard complaints about the statues before.

He said they were bought a few years ago, along with concrete pagodas and a terra cotta warrior, to provide an Asian theme for the zoo's Tiger Trail, which was reopened in 2004.

The Tiger Trail, formerly known as the Great Cat Walk, features red pandas, a variety of birds and binturong and a pair of Sumatran tigers.

He plans to discuss the complaint with the zoo's board.

Links We Like

Sponsored Content
Better digestion may require some changes to your diet and schedule. Follow these suggestions to improve your digestive health. More

To guard your job security, be sure to avoid these 10 common pitfalls. More

Find out where you can buy low now and sell high when the market recovers. More

The following tips can help your car become a less inviting target and slow down, discourage or actually prevent car theft. More

Sponsored Links

Job Searching Tips

During the typical job interview, you'll be asked a lot of questions. But do you really understand what the interviewer needs to know? More