Zoo animals taken care of in cold conditions

With snow still sticking around from the weekend storm, ABC-7 visited the El Paso Zoo Monday to check up on the animals and see how they’re doing in the cold.

Zoo keepers said they work on very cold days to not only clean and feed the animals but also make sure all the heaters in the holding cells are working. The animal’s cells are also bedded with straw so the animals don’t sleep on the cold floor.

On a day like Monday when it’s cold but sunny, the keepers open the holding cells and most animals can walk out into their exhibits if they want to

“The ones that don’t are, for instance, our spider monkeys,” said Griselda Martinez with the zoo. “They actually don’t have access to the exhibit. It’s a little bit too cold for them right now. They’re more of a tropical animal so they will not go out.”

Martinez said there are animals that enjoy this type of weather: bears, tigers, leopards, sea lions, and orangutans.