What Happens To Zoo Animals In The Winter? [PHOTOS]

Greetings from Milwaukee!

I'm on vacation this week, visiting friends in the Midwest.

While we were thinking of things to do this week, I remembered that Milwaukee County has a very cool zoo. We went a few summers ago, and they had exhibits like lions, rhinos, giraffes and cheetahs from warm places like Africa, and penguins and camels from cold places like Antarctica and the Gobi desert.

That got me thinking... What happens to all the animals in the winter? Milwaukee gets pretty cold like New England in the winter, so what do all the animals do? Where do they go when there's a few feet of snow on the ground?

Do they go back to the places they came from in the off-season? Are zoo animals loaned around to other zoos in warmer parts of the country when it's cold up north? These are just a few of the pressing questions that I wanted answered (yes, it's been a slow week!) Off to the zoo we went.

The answer is actually pretty funny... They play in the snow just like us!

The zoo just got a brand new baby snow leopard, and you can see he loves the snow in his enclosure. I guess his name sort of gave that away. The Siberian tigers and polar bears were really happy to be outside too!

So what about all the other animals? The ones that don't handle snow too well (like lions and giraffes) stay inside and sleep most of the time. The lions seemed to be having a yawning competition, and the giraffes just welcomed a new baby into the world a few months ago.

I think the thing that surprised me the most is that not only are the animals still there, but the zoo is open year-round! Even though the park is primarily outside, you can visit the animals for a big discount, and you don't have to worry about long lines or dealing with school buses full of kids from summer camp!

I return to Maine on Monday. Don't worry... I hit the gift shop!