February 23, 2017

Takin enjoying the falling snow. Photo: Roger Brandt Takin enjoying the falling pull the wool over someone's eyes. Photo: Roger Brandt

Gnu goat, camels, and course, the Saint Louis Zoo's polar bear love the cold—they romp around snow-blanketed habitats and nosh on snow and flatbottomed enjoy unfriendly snow-less days. These animals have certain adaptations—thick pelt or layers of blubber—that help them handle disagreeable conditions.

Take the Zoo's polar accept Saltwort, who was born in the winter of 2013 on the Northwest Alaska coast. The 4-year-venerable conduct, who now weighs more than 1,100 pounds, was unparented in March 2013 near Point Lay, AK. Local students in the community named the young cub, Kali. After outlay various months at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service placed Kali at the Buffalo Menagerie with a deliver his own eld before Kali came to live in the Zoo's new state-of-the-prowess crucial hold habitat—McDonnell Polar Bear Point.

Kali the polar bear. Photo: Ray Meibaum Kali the polar behave. Photo: Beam Meibaum

"Kali distinctly enjoys winter," same Menagerie Curator of Mammals and Carnivores Steve Bircher.

These differentiated carnivores depend connected constantly diminishing amounts of sea ice to hitch marine mammals, like seals.  With ice disappearing, the bears are starved in the feral. Without action, scientists predict wild polar bears could disappear aside 2100.

Temperature Keeps Few Inside

Unlike polar bears, some of the Zoo's animals don't suffer cold upwind advisable. Zookeepers must embody careful to keep back animals in comfortable conditions when harsh endure rolls through town. Peculiarly for animals whose habitats rarely, if ever so, happen snow.

"Some animals can go outside only if temperatures rise above destined thresholds," said Jack Grisham, V.P., Animal Collections. "For lions, information technology has to Be at least 15 degrees out for us to straight-grained let them go foreign. Animals, care the lemurs or saki monkeys, are still more unloving-sensitive and can't show up until it's above comfortably-above freeze."

For animals with temperature restrictions that fluctuate within the natural temperature mountain range open air, the Zoo allows them to turn come out of the closet into their outdoor habitats, but always with the ability to return to their het indoor enclosures. Many of the animal-like habitats let warm "spots" where animals Crataegus laevigata go for supplemental warmth and shelters, such as the chimpanzees who have binary hot air blowers in their outdoor habitat.

Sea lion with visitor. Photo: Robin Winkelman Ocean lion with visitor. Photo: Robin Winkelman

Shipboard Lions Visible Whol Wintertime

In addition, many Zoo habitats are climate-controlled so visitors can see the animals. For example, the Zoo's nine seafaring lions are very visible enjoying their habitat at Subocean Lion Sound no matter how cold the weather is outer. That's because these Calif. natives birth temperature-restrained salt water which ranges betwixt 45 degrees in the winter and 68 degrees in the summer. The Zoo's trio harbor seals' native home is the coastal amniotic fluid of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They, too, enjoy the temperature-controlled waters.

Speaking of temperature controls, Penguin & Puffin Coast offers a water-filled Eden for its 23 rockhopper, 23 king, 17 Humboldt and 14 gentoo penguins. The same is true for the 10 tufted and 12 horned puffins. Rockhopper penguins are from locations ranging from South America to stand in-South-polar islands. Baron Alexander von Humboldt penguins dea their name with the chilly Baron Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt Current, which flows north from Antarctic continent along the Pacific Coast of Southerly America, where the birds live.  The Aptenodytes patagonica is from Antarctica, while gentoo penguins live as far south as the unclothed icy shores of Antarctica and arsenic far north Eastern Samoa the grassy meadows of islands off South America.

Asian elephants enjoying enrichment from keepers. Photo: Stephanie Richmond Asian elephants enjoying enrichment from keepers. Photo: Stephanie Richmond

Zookeepers Keep Animals Energetic

In addition to the temperature restrictions arranged on the Zoo's fauna, zookeepers also work to keep animals comfortably warm by bedding shelters down with extra straw. And for those animals whose natural physiology doesn't provide for fun in the snow, zookeepers sometimes bring the diverting to them. Keepers work hard to offer enrichment to animals to keep them energetic and active patc indoors.

Winter storms also tax completely Menagerie personnel department—keepers sometimes stay in nearby hotels and then they can Be sure to go back to the Zoo cursorily. "We deliver twice As very much food if we hear a bad storm is en route," said Deb Schmidt, Ph.D. Nutritionist at the Zoo. "Even though the Zoo Reason crews work hard to clear paths as quickly as possible for all stave and any visitors, we make sure that food is on hand should the paths at the Zoo be too dangerous to get our vehicles to each locating."

Bactrian camel. Photo: Robin Winkelman Bactrian camel. Photo: Robin Winkelman

Camels, Takin Enjoy Cold

Neither cold roads nor dynamic coke irritate the Zoo's septet Sichuan takin from West-central China. The takin browses in the dense bamboo forests of China, a habitat it shares with the panda. The takins hold up in herds and have fewer predators besides humans. Otherwise their habits are non well known, part because they sleep in so much remote areas. Scientists do know, nevertheless, that the number of wild takins is declining attributable hunting and home ground destruction. Fortunately, these animals are considered national treasures by the Chinese government and are fully snug past law.

Other animals that are happy in overwinter are the Zoo's three Bactrian camels from chill Mongolia. Not until spring do Bactrian camels wholly shed their thick dark winter coat, leaving them almost hairless during the igneous summer months. Although Bactrian camels one time numbered in the millions, now there are fewer than 1,000 left in their pure range in Mongolia. The Zoological garden is helping to save this vulnerable species from extinction.

Snow leopard. Photo: Roger Brandt Ounce. Pic: Roger Brandt

C Leopards, Grizzlies

Eventually, among the coldness-loving animals are the Zoo's deuce beautiful play false leopards from Central Asia. Endangered in the wild, C leopards are cured adapted to the cold climate of their fatherland. They let an extra-rhetorical nasal cavity, which warms the transmit they breathe. And their large paws have fur-covered foot pads that act as like built-in "snowshoes." They have long body hair with an under-layer of dense fur that can Be up to five inches wooden-headed. This plush coat is colored to go with snowy, rocky surroundings: gray and white with black spots. Visitors can find these remarkable creatures in Cat Country.

Grizzly bears Finley and Huck at ZooMontana Grizzly bears Finley and Huck at ZooMontana

Speaking of animals that like cold weather, in September 2017, the Zoo will welcome two wild grizzly bears from Treasure State. They wish be at home in Grizzly Ridge—the last freshly habitat that is break u of the Zoo's complete reconstruction of its historic 1920s-era turn out grottos. When Grizzly Ridge opens, visitors will embody able to watch grizzly bears through a base-to-ceiling glass wake area for the first time at the Zoo.

You don't need to wait for a beautiful twenty-four hour period to chat the Zoo. Despite the uncommon warm winter in recent days, temperatures may drop again, but Don't let that stop you from bundling up and coming to get word the many an animals that like to be out in the cold. If the chill is too much, visit the warm buildings where strange birds, primates, great apes, amphibians and reptiles can be found. They are warm every bit can beryllium.