grandelover1
Well-Known Member
I wanted to create a thread, because I’m interested in what zoos do with certain animals during the winter! If you have any specific zoos that take certain animals off exhibit, feel free to comment below!
What Animals Go Off Exhibit in The Winter?
- Thread starter grandelover1
- Start date
Obviously it depends where the zoo is located. Here in southern Arizona, none go off exhibit because we have mild winters. Though we can get a cold spell (down to freezing for a few days) in which case they would have access to their night quarters. Zoos in tropical climates (Hawaii, Singapore, etc) have more or less the same warm weather year round, so none go off exhibit there.
A few zoos that have cold winters specialize in cold weather animals so none go off exhibit either. The example that comes to mind is Highland Wildlife Park (Scotland) and Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (USA).
However many zoos in Europe and northern USA have animals that are either kept permanently in indoor exhibits (visible year round) or as you suggest are taken off exhibit either all winter or on colder days in winter. There are probably too many examples to list, but one that has been highlighted several times on ZooChat is the gorillas at Bronx Zoo. In summer it is almost certainly the best gorilla exhibit in the country. In winter, however, they are kept in indoor enclosures off exhibit.
A few zoos that have cold winters specialize in cold weather animals so none go off exhibit either. The example that comes to mind is Highland Wildlife Park (Scotland) and Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (USA).
However many zoos in Europe and northern USA have animals that are either kept permanently in indoor exhibits (visible year round) or as you suggest are taken off exhibit either all winter or on colder days in winter. There are probably too many examples to list, but one that has been highlighted several times on ZooChat is the gorillas at Bronx Zoo. In summer it is almost certainly the best gorilla exhibit in the country. In winter, however, they are kept in indoor enclosures off exhibit.
Giraffes in particular are sensitive to colder temperatures, so they're kept indoors in cold winters.
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Also, each zoo has its own policies about the conditions under which a species is brought inside. Some outdoor exhibits are more protected from wind and cold than others, some are better at warming up on sunny days. I know one zoo that brings gorillas inside while a neighboring zoo lets them go out.
In some Scandinavian zoos, and other zoos across the colder parts of Europe, brown bears often sleep through the winter in their off-exhibit dens.
Mountain Pygmy possums at Taronga are also hibernating in winter in their air conditioned building, although I am not sure whether they are ever visible to the public even in (Australian) summer (unless you book a behind the scenes tour).
I assume this would apply to other winter sleeping or hibernating species.
Mountain Pygmy possums at Taronga are also hibernating in winter in their air conditioned building, although I am not sure whether they are ever visible to the public even in (Australian) summer (unless you book a behind the scenes tour).
I assume this would apply to other winter sleeping or hibernating species.
My zoo has temperature thresholds that must be met if the animals are to go outside that day. The winters here are relatively mild so there are a few days that animals like the giraffes and tropical apes can be outside in the winter months. We have indoor viewing for those animals if they cannot go outside. For the cold resistant animals (moose, grizzlies, Amur tigers, Amur leopards, snow leopards, etc.), temperatures rarely get down enough for there to be concern so there is no indoor viewing for them and guests can view them outside all year.
grandelover1
Well-Known Member
Oshkosh Zoo, only open from May to September, it has 30 to 50 animals. However apparently they are constructing permanent enclosures for a permanent collection of native animals.
d1am0ndback
Well-Known Member
Not always, some zoos find ways around such as heating of land or water with heaters. An example being the Fort Worth Zoo where even on a snowy day, you can find the gharials and terrapins sunbathing.
I don't think south Texas zoos bring animals in for the winter. Freezing temperatures are so rare that if there's a tiny bit of ice on the roads, everything shuts down because no one can be trusted to drive, ha ha.
There are many zoos in Wisconsin that close down completely during the summer, as almost all there animals at these zoos are from tropical climates.