Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo has some cool cats — and lemurs and peacocks and other animals coping with the recent freezing temperatures.
The zoo, which is home to more than 75 different animal species from around the world, has ensured all of its animals have access to heat lamps and space heaters in both the outdoor cages and back enclosures.
But unlike their human caretakers and visitors, the animals have had very little trouble adjusting to the low temperatures, said Kenny Carawan, a third-semester zookeeper in the Santa Fe zoo technology program.
“For most of them, they deal fine with it,” said Carawan, 22. “We haven’t seen any changes in appearance — the birds keep preening, the primates keep cleaning themselves.”
The zoo has seen fewer visitors since the cold front came to town, but the handful of people who have stopped by have seen their fair share of animal activity.
“We were talking about how it’s probably too cold for the animals, and that they’d probably be hiding,” said 33-year-old Kathryn King, who visited the zoo Wednesday with her family. “We’re surprised how many are out.”
Stephanie Panabaker, a 23-year-old third-semester zookeeper in the Santa Fe zoo technology program, said the animals didn’t spend all their time near the heat.
“Honestly, we zookeepers are more affected by the cold than the animals,” Panabaker said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/30/2014 under the headline "Santa Fe zoo animals stay warm"]
A peacock roams around the Sante Fe College Teaching Zoo on Wednesday afternoon. The zoo used heat lamps and space heaters to help the animals combat the lower temperatures.
