Zoo preparing its residents for the cold
With temperatures set to plummet, Shanghai Zoo is taking steps to keep its animal residents warm.
Fennec foxes from Africa already enjoy electric under-floor heating, which keeps the temperature of their indoor living space at an ideal, for them, 15 degrees Celsius, the zoo said on Monday.
UVB lights have been turned on for a giant tortoise at the zoo, keeping the temperature above 25 degrees, and she can enjoy a hot spring at any time.
Fennec foxes rest under their wooden beds.
Turtles enjoy heating at the zoo.
A thermal circulation system has been prepared for the zoo’s Chinese alligators.
Keepers have placed bamboo leaves on the wooden beds of lesser pandas to protect them from the chill, and the beds will be moved outside in good weather to allow them to bathe in the sun.
A lesser panda settles down on a bed of bamboo leaves to keep warm.
Otters have been given extra straw.
Straw has been prepared for otters, while leaves have been piled at the entrance to the cave where several brown bears live, keepers said.
Orangutan Hei Niu, nicknamed "Black Berry,” the fruit of cooperation between zoos in Shanghai and Nanjing in neighboring Jiangsu Province, and one of the zoo’s star attractions, has a blanket to keep herself warm.
Orangutan Hei Niu has a blanket to keep her warm.
Hamadryas feel the warmth of the sun.
Air-conditioning and under-floor heating has been switched on for monkeys and orangutans from tropical and subtropical zones.
Two new wooden houses for leopard cats have been set up, and parrots have new homes.
Ring-tailed lemurs enjoy some fresh air.
Parrots enjoy their new facilities.
Food for herbivores have been adjusted to enrich their nutrition and help them cope with the chilly weather.
For Asian elephants, giraffes and hippos, cucumbers rich in water have been removed, replaced by pumpkins, soybeans and sugarcane to increase their energy supply.
Hay fed to deer and cattle has been increased to help them get through the winter, the zoo said.
