Cooped up all Winter

kbaker116

kbaker116

Well-Known Member
What your thoughts about animals being inside for the winter time. Should more Northern Zoos have less animals from warmer climates? Living near the Detroit Zoo I can't help but wonder how the animals from Africa and South America cope with the winter. Animals like Giraffes seem to stay indoors while White Rhinos don't seem to mind as much. We don't have Okapi's so I would know but do you know how sensitive they are to the cold. I was just curious of what animals venture out into the cold during your winter months.
 
OK, when I saw the title of this thread I expected that you were asking, "What the hell do I do in Michigan all winter." :rolleyes: But I'm up to speed now.
So much can depend on the micro-climates of the zoo and even the exhibit, as well as on the animal curators. I know places where gorillas are allowed out even when temperatures are in the 30s and other places that would/could never do that.
 
Ha no I probably should have had a different title though. Hopefully it confuse others.
Anyways I am surprised to hear Gorillas go out even when its in the 30s. At the Bronx Zoo is the Congo Gorilla Forest section open during the winter months?
 
One could assess a specific situation rather than generalizing. For example, having a solitary Asian elephant spend months on end in a tiny barn (which is currently happening at the Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Canada) is what I personally consider shocking. The Detroit Zoo, which is much farther south than Edmonton's little zoo, decided to take the weather into account when their two elephants were sent to a sanctuary years ago. For each animal and for each particular zoo the circumstances might be a bit different, and then one can get into the argument about large-scale rainforest buildings where the animals never see the outdoors. I can see both sides of the debate.
 
Zebras go inside when it's below 35F. Chimps and gorillas will go out if it's a bright sunny day even if there's snow on the ground. It's a keeper call. I was lucky enough to see our group of chimps go out for the 1st time after their new exhibit opened (they are from Florida!) and it was fun to watch them experience snow! Our gorillas were not as curious and adventurous as the chimps, however, one silverback went out, scooped up a handful of snow, returned and sat down, eating it from his cupped palm as tho he was eating sorbet. The chimp and gorilla day rooms are kept at 80F. Our Amur tigers love the snow! Our lions have heated outdoor rocks for them to perch on.
 
kbaker116 said:
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Anyways I am surprised to hear Gorillas go out even when its in the 30s. At the Bronx Zoo is the Congo Gorilla Forest section open during the winter months?
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Yes, the Congo Gorilla Forest is open all year. But whether the animals are out or in depends on the day and the species. I think that the gorilla exhibits are the most protected from the weather, while the black and white colobus are the hardiest species.
 
From kbaker116: What your thoughts about animals being inside for the winter time. Should more Northern Zoos have less animals from warmer climates?

As long as they are provide with adequate heat and activities for enrichment, then I don't see why tropical or subtropical species can't thrive in northern zoos.

I've read about how some species have adapted to climates their familiar with like Asian elephants in the Himalayas and scimitar-horned oryx grazing on the English countryside. Of course, you can leave the doorway to their indoor quarters open so they can come in if they get cold

As far enrichment goes, behavior such as foraging can be encouraged with goodies concealed in straw for primates and feeder boxes for giraffes.

As for northern zoos having less animals from warmer climates, I think that is up to the zoo leadership in charge and the message they want to convey to their guests?
 
i come from a country where this isnt an issue and our animals are out all year round often 24 hours a day.

Is having the animals out in the cold and snow and then coming straight into heated night dens an issue? i know people can get sick from the sudden temperature changes so does any one know if it affects the animal having such extreme temperatures all the time?
 
I think as long as they have a large enough indoor enclousre, able to cater for their temperature, enrichment/foraging and excersize needs, then it's not to much of an issue.
Having said that, i might be tempted to draw the line with megapods such as elephants belonging to smaller zoos. The idea of a couple of elephants being enclosed in a 20m x 30m space doesn't appeal to me much.

@Torie ~ a lot of enclosures have gradients, so the animal isn't confined to just one heat setting as it were. I imagine that would making comming out of the cold less of an issue. ;)
 
It's a difficult question!

In Herps we only have one species outside of the main house which does not hibernate, Madagascan Radiated Tortoises. They are seperated into comfortable groups over winter allowing them to live comfortably at least, indoors with no squabbling, underfloor heating etc, as during the rest of the year. It's down to keeper discretion to allow them a daily 20 minute run out during servicing provided it's not wet and not windy, even if it's quite cold, they shouldn't cool down too much during that time.

As for the other animals, not sure how much or how little they get to choose to come out, however here in Jersey most years it stays above freezing and we don't get groundfrost etc.

Last Christmas we did have an unusual 4 days of this, but even then this is as extreme as the weather gets here!!!!
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Zoos and their inmates have so much to win from harmonising their stock selection with their ambient climate.I feel tempted to give a couple of chapters´worth of text on circadian cycles, biorhythms etc but for the moment, just one very practical consideration - imagine the energy cost savings!
 
Originally Posted by kbaker116
what your thoughts about animals being inside for the winter time. should more northern zoos have less animals from warmer climates?

Arizona Docent said:
yes, yes, yes!
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No, no, no!

Animals adapt. Polar bears and snow leopards at the Philadelphia Zoo seem to enjoy the summer weather slightly more than the winter weather.

And I have seen the zebras and sometimes the giraffes outside for short periods on very cold days. Sloth bears, too. (I am sure I will think of even more examples immediately after I click the "Submit reply" button.)

Furthermore, the more we can learn about how animals adapt to a variety of environmental conditions, and why some adapt more easily than others, the better equipped we will be to plan successful conservation programs in a very uncertain future for most existing habitats.
 
kbaker116 said:
What your thoughts about animals being inside for the winter time. Should more Northern Zoos have less animals from warmer climates? Living near the Detroit Zoo I can't help but wonder how the animals from Africa and South America cope with the winter. Animals like Giraffes seem to stay indoors while White Rhinos don't seem to mind as much. We don't have Okapi's so I would know but do you know how sensitive they are to the cold. I was just curious of what animals venture out into the cold during your winter months.
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Every [large] zoo should exhibit animal species from every climate. One of the most significant values of zoos is that they provide opportunities for people to see animals they would not otherwise have many, if any, opportunities to see.

Another very important reason for the existence of zoos is that they provide visitors with an opportunity to see the diversity of wildlife on earth, to compare and contrast the similarities and differences, and to feel that sense of awe and appreciation for wildlife that such an opportunity inspires.

Reducing the number of species exhibited is not good for any reason other than having absolute proof that living in unnatural climate conditions causes pain, suffering, or death in specific species. And at this time, it doesn't appear that there is any such proof for any given species.

There always seem to be individuals that can adapt very well to a variety of environmental conditions.

Please also see my reply to Arizona Docent, whose answer to your question was Yes, yes, yes.
 
In reply to your reply, I would actually consider Philadelphia to be a northern zoo that is very appropriate for snow leopards and polar bears. What I think is inapporpriate is having them in Tucson or Miami (but don't tell my zoo staff I said that, because everyone else around here seems to love having polar bears in the desert).
 
Arizona Docent said:
In reply to your reply, I would actually consider Philadelphia to be a northern zoo that is very appropriate for snow leopards and polar bears. What I think is inapporpriate is having them in Tucson or Miami (but don't tell my zoo staff I said that, because everyone else around here seems to love having polar bears in the desert).
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Thanks for your reply. But my point was that the polar bears and snow leopards in the Philadelphia Zoo actually seem to prefer the hot, humid weather of our summers to the cold, snowy weather of our winters (although they get along quite well all year round). But I really think these individuals could adjust very well to living in the south.

Conversely, I believe many animals native to warm or hot weather climates can adjust to and might even prefer a colder climate. I think we need to think of animals as individuals, and realize that individuals can vary just as humans do.
 
I think people forget (but not at this message board!:))that endothermy is an evolutionary adaptation that allowed mammals to be successful, more successful than reptiles, in multiplying on this planet.

@zoo visitor and @arizona docent, I'm curious what kind of things your keepers do with animals like polar bears in the summer? That was a frequent question I got at our polar bear exhibit.
 
zoogeek said:
@zoo visitor and @arizona docent, I'm curious what kind of things your keepers do with animals like polar bears in the summer?
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They don't really do anything out of the ordinary. There are three stock answers we are told to give. First, they swim a lot and the water keeps them cool, even when they first get out (like when you step out of a swimming pool in summer and feel cold). Second, they have full time access to their cool (but not air-conditioned) indoor quarters. Third, a polar bear's thick insulation protects them from heat as well as cold.

The first two explanations make perfect sense to me. But the third one I just don't buy. If this were really the case, then why don't all our keepers try wearing down jackets in the summer for an extra layer of "cooling insulation."
 
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