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Cold weather protection a priority at Audubon Zoo

Folks at Audubon say cold weather precautions that apply to the large mammals and other animals at the zoo, should also apply to your family pets.

NEW ORLEANS — The staff at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans is taking precautions to protect the animals from the frigid temperatures in our area. 

Like some of us humans, many of the animals are riding out this cold snap indoors. 

“Some animals really can’t handle this, so some of the birds, some of the primates, some of our pig species they’re just not built for cold weather,” Audubon Curator of Mammals Joe Forys said. 

Tuesday, the only elephant in sight was the one on the weathervane on top of the elephant enclosure. 

A maned wolf came out of his house, just long enough to take a look at our camera. 

The alpacas poked their heads out of their barn. That’s as close as they came to the freezing temperatures outside. 

Forys says it’s a serious matter when it gets this cold at the zoo. 

“We keep most animals locked in so that they make good decisions for themselves, we have heat, we have heat lamps, we have extra bedding. In places where concerns about losing power, we have restationed generators.” 

There were heating elements throughout the aviary where some of the exotic birds live. 

Other locations, like the one that houses the Barasingha Swamp Deer, had extra hay and bedding for the animals. 

“They prefer to be just outside in the sun,” Forys said. “We don’t force them to go in because that would stress them out.” 

The crowd was sparse because of the weather. 

But, Jennifer Frosch says the colder than normal temps is what brought her to the zoo. 

“I enjoy cold weather and I know there are some animals that do enjoy cold weather that would normally be sleeping or just sitting still, so I’m excited to see if there are any animals that are more active because of the cold weather,” Frosch said. 

Folks at Audubon say cold weather precautions that apply to the large mammals and other animals at the zoo, should also apply to your family pets. 

“All animals, all pets should be inside when the weather is this cold,” Forys said. 

Forys says as part of the cold weather protocols, he will be spending the night at the zoo, checking on the animals and activating generators if the power goes out. 

 

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