THE weekend’s heavy snowfall brought with it love-hate moments for Dudley Zoo’s 1,600-strong exotic animal species.
While the likes of the red pandas, reindeer, Humboldt penguins, Patagonian sealions and snowy owls were in their element, the majority of the animals preferred to spend their snow days enjoying enrichment activities inside their heated and insulated dens.
The zoo's press officer, Rachel Hickman, said: “Despite the weather and the closure of the zoo to visitors on Friday, yesterday and today, it’s still business as usual for our dedicated keeping staff and gardening team who battled through the snowdrifts to make sure our animals still received the best possible care.
“Our curators keep a close eye on the weather forecasts so we were well prepared for the last few days and had stocked up on dry feed, straw and hay, which keepers had to manually haul around the hilly site due to limited vehicle access, which is when sledges came in very useful!”
Wintry weather duties include keeping enclosure roofs and food troughs free of snow, as well as making sure pools and water bowls are free of ice.
Staff also make up food and drinks with warm water and keep a close eye on temperature gauges inside the insulated animal houses, with additional heating brought in if needed.
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