San Antonio Zoo Lets Alligators Roam Indoors amid Winter Storm: 'It Was Like a Big Rodeo'
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San Antonio Zoo Lets Alligators Roam Indoors amid Winter Storm: 'It Was Like a Big Rodeo'
"Like other businesses, we don't have a plan for this, but we knew we had to get the animals out of the cold," one official said about the Texas zoo's response to Winter Storm Uri
By Maria Pasquini February 18, 2021 06:21 PM
The San Antonio Zoo is finding creative ways to keep its animals safe and warm. ... As Texas grappled with an unprecedented winter storm, which has left millions without power in plummeting temperatures, the zoo moved a number of its animals out of their normal habitats.
"Like other businesses, we don't have a plan for this, but we knew we had to get the animals out of the cold," Craig Pelke, the zoo's director of ectotherms, told the San Antonio Express-News. "We have an emergency response plan for hurricanes, flooding, and other things, but no one can plan for this type of extended deep freeze."
On Tuesday, after losing electricity to their well pump, the zoo relocated 14 crocodiles and alligators, and over three dozen turtles to the zoo's Africa Live! building, Pelke shared with the outlet.
"Today, due to power outages within the zoo, alligators are roaming the building to stay warm," the zoo wrote on Facebook alongside a video of the large reptiles crawling in front of some fish tanks.
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