Surprising ways animals at the St. Louis Zoo stay warm in winter

Here's how takins, pinnipeds, and penguins handle winter naturally.
STORY: www.ksdk.com/a...
It's the time of year when we humans turn up the heat inside and bundle up to go outside, but not all animals are like us.
There are hundreds of creatures at the St. Louis Zoo, some are more adapted to winter than others. There is only one animal in the red rocks section of the zoo that doesn't need a heated barn.
Christy Poelker cares for the zoo's takin, a golden furry animal that looks like a mix between a cow and a sheep.
"They have a really long nose which heats up the air before it gets to their lungs so they don't burn a lot of energy just trying to stay warm," says Poelker.
The takin are so well adapted to winter weather, they don't need heat in their barn and when it is snowing you can usually find them outside taking it all in.
Human noses aren't long enough for that unique way to stay warm, but there is another species at the zoo which shares a bundling up technique with us.
"So obviously the sea lions and seals aren't going to wear any coats or hats or anything," pinniped keeper Valerie Olstead tells 5 On Your Side. "But by getting more fish over the wintertime they build up that nice thick blubber layer, which is that layer of fat right underneath the skin that helps to insulate them and keep them warm."
Some animals need more than just a feast to stay warm, and this one might surprise you, the Humbolt penguins.
"Our winters here are slightly colder than what they would have in Peru," Marija Elden the Zoological Manager of Birds explains. "So what we are able to do is provide them with just a little bit of heat when they are in their habitat, our vents blow warm air at them, if they want to they can come and stand in the vents and we also give them the choice to come inside."
While not all animals can be like takin and are made for winter, others like the seals and some penguins are more like us humans than we would expect.

[@AV57]

Zoos: jail for your animal friends.

[@AV57]

@@HonestlyAnnaFun, not all jails are alike. Some jails are nicer than living freely in the wild.

[@KevinTkt14]

How much research have you done on the Saint Louis zoo? They have a reputation for how amazing they treat the animals. You wanna see an animal jail go to the Louisville zoo we have here in Kentucky, the poor rhinos alone will make you depressed, not even getting to the elephants and gorillas.

[@AV57]

@@KevinTkt14 1) my comment comes from a Simpsons episode. There was a banner over the gate of the Springfield Zoo that read “See your animals friends in Prison.” that was shown for about 1.5 seconds. It is a way of poking fun at the contentious idea that humans are doing animals favors by putting them in captivity and gawking at them.
2) my comment was not particularly directed at any particular zoo. I haven’t heard a sufficient argument for even the best of zoos, so even if STL has the best, it doesn’t really budge me on the issue. Animals thrive with freedom 99.999% of the time and zoos actively preach the idea that humans should be holding animals captive.

[@topturn9653]

@@AV57 what do want to feed & breed Anna V?

[@AV57]

@@topturn9653 what?