Anonymous asked:

How do zoo's deal with different climates? As in, bringing an animal from tropical/desert environment to the midwest. Do some adapt more easily? Do some animals have to stay inside all winter? Or do Zoo's specialize based on region? Also, Which animals like to play in the snow?

Each and every species has strict temperature guidelines, which are followed to the letter. Heating and cooling are provided year round, depending on what the species requires. Some animals do, in fact, have to stay inside all winter, depending on where the facility is located!

With indoor enclosures, like you find with most reptiles, it’s fairly easy to replicate, say, a desert environment, even in the midwest. With outdoor environments, we try and replicate their natural surroundings, but the most important thing is making sure they are warm/cool enough (depending on the species). For example, red pandas are from the Himalayas. One place I worked had air conditioned (read: COLD to humans, great for pandas!) treetop huts in the exhibit, which the pandas had access to 24/7.

There are some zoos that specialize based on region, which certainly makes it easier to accommodate general climate conditions, but even regionally, species’ needs can vary greatly. For example, even if they are both from the same area, a snake and a bear are going to have very different heating needs!

As for your last question, because LadyVean doesn’t like to play in the snow, I have avoided living and working in really cold regions, so I don’t have a ton of firsthand experience with this, but the Malayan tiger and American bison do!!!