NC Zoo curators take steps to keep animals warm during cold spell

ASHEBORO, N.C. Leaders at the North Carolina Zoo are working to protect the animals from frigid temperatures.

Because the majority of the animals there are from much warmer climates, curators take additional steps to support them.

"Every animal at the zoo has a shelter and indoor area that has capacity for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, said general curator Ken Reininger.

That includes barns that stand 22 feet high for giraffes and another holding area that keeps cougars and waterfowl safe.

"The biggest thing we had to deal with is that we have a couple of facilities with older heating units. Several of them had to be serviced by our maintenance staff to be up and running again, Reininger said.

It's so cold that even Patches, the zoo's newest polar bear, only comes out of her enclosed area a few times a day.

"She does prefer to go into her holding area in her straw bed and spend time indoors," Reininger said.

While species in the North American exhibit can tolerate these frigid temperatures, species in the African exhibit have to go inside if it's 45 degrees or below.

"We actually train our animals to come in on a daily basis, in part, because of situations like this, so we don't have to go round them up, Reininger said.

Alligators are one of the few animals that don't come in.

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NC Zoo curators take steps to keep animals warm during cold spell