IT is a bit like Marmite this cold weather - you either love it or hate it!
Well, that is exactly how it is for some of the animals at the Lake District Wildlife Park.
We often get asked how our animals manage when it is minus temperatures and frosty.
The simple answer is that the majority cope much better than humans do.
Animals are adapted to living in their environments and use their surroundings and their bodies to stay warm.
Others however just wouldn’t survive in the cold and that is where our Keepers step in to make sure they are kept warm and comfortable when the temperatures drop.
The European Lynx is a prime example of an animal that is adapted to stay warm in winter. You may already know that Lynx moult at the end of summer and their lighter brown coat is replaced by a thicker, greyer silver coat.
This coat enables Cae and Elva the Lynx at the Park to stay warm and comfortable in the cold.
They also have wide padded paws and their toes spread out as they walk.
This means their feet act like a pair of snowshoes enabling them to walk lightly on soft snow surfaces. They have furry toes which keep their paws warm and helps them to grip onto slippery surfaces.
They are stealthy predators, and you can see Cae and Elva demonstrating this as they quietly prowl around their enclosure on the frosty grass.
Other animals such as our Alpacas, Hector, Hugo, Herbie, Dougal, and Marley have the most amazing wool coats.
Originating from South America, Alpacas are found at high altitudes and cope well in cold weather.
The Park’s Alpacas are clipped out in spring, and this gradually grows through the summer months preparing them for the winter ahead.
Anyone who has ever had an Alpaca wool jumper will know just how warm they are!
Our Yaks, Ada and Abel, also originate from cold climates and in the wild live at high altitudes in Nepal. Yaks are in the bovine (cow) family, and they are distantly related to Bison.
Their coat however is more like that of a Bison than that of a typical cow found in the UK!
Their long thick hair is perfect for keeping warm at high altitudes or in the cold Lake District weather!
As these animals are all so well adapted at keeping themselves warm and snug, the main issue the Park’s animal keepers have is keeping them all watered. As you can imagine there are quite a lot of water buckets and troughs at the park.
The main task is making sure that the water in these is kept topped up and breaking any ice off the surface.
Some animals however, like the reptiles are sun worshippers or in scientific terms are ectotherms, which means they use the heat of the sun to warm up.
You may have already guessed that there is not much chance of that at this time of year!
The reptiles therefore have plenty of heaters and heat lamps which are used all year round. This helps them to maintain constant body temperature whatever the outside temperature may be.
Other animals at the Park such as the Otters Amber and Koji and the Gibbons, Brian, Nobby and Sally, will venture out as normal in the cold to have an explore but they will then return to the warmth of their heated houses.
Rest assured all the animals are warm and snug during the cold spells whether they can generate their own heat or need a bit of a helping hand!
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