Where Do The Zoo Animals Go For The Winter?

WBZ

To make up for the cold weather, we might turn up the thermostat a few degrees or wear an extra sweater around the house.

But Dana from Waltham is curious. She wants to know what zoos do with their animals during the winter.

"They all stay here," said John Linehan, CEO of the Franklin Park Zoo.

He says the staff builds the zoo around the animals' cold weather capability. "As we're building their exhibits and their facilities, we plan from what their climatic abilities are to adapt."

So Chris the Lion is king of a specially heated rock. The African wild dogs can curl up in a cozy cave that has floor heat built into the bottom of it.

The zebras cold weather ways aren't as black and white. "The major concern with zebras is slippage on the ice. They can actually hurt their ligaments and muscles in the joints, so we worry about that."

Giraffes are pretty much the only animal guaranteed not to see the winter months. "Giraffes are not adaptable," said Linehan.

Their cold weather cutoff is 64 degrees.

If the cold zoo isn't your idea of fun in the sun, Linehan asks that you reconsider. "They actually get bored when there aren't visitors here. When you come in, they'll come looking for you in some cases."

And if they can brave the cold, so can you.

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