Sunbathing, wearing sweaters, sleeping on heating stones
Animals who are afraid of cold have "artifacts" for winter
Affected by the strong cold air, cold wave weather appeared in Beijing area, and people added clothes to protect themselves from the cold.
Faced with cooling, how do the animals in the zoo keep out the cold?
Yesterday, the reporter saw at the Beijing Zoo that, under the warm light of the Yuba, the giant anteater that had just had breakfast lying lazily in its nest, wagging its tail in comfort.
A large number of animals that are afraid of the cold are spending the "warm winter" comfortably with the support of "warm artifacts" such as sweaters and heating stones.
Yesterday, at the Amphibian Reptile Hall of the Beijing Zoo, the breeder put on sweaters for the radiated tortoise to keep warm.
This edition of photography/Beijing News reporter Hou Shaoqing
Artifact 1 sweater
Baby tortoises put on custom sweaters
"Look, how come the tortoise has become a'dinosaur'!" Seeing the staff put on a sweater on the slapped spoked tortoise, the two tourists covered their mouths with joy.
The tortoise put on the fur vest and was still recognized by the tourists.
The reporter saw that this little yellow sweater was very delicate and looked like a stegosaurus. It not only had a back bone plate, but also had a long tail. The little tortoise became even more adorable after wearing it.
How did you think of wearing sweaters for animals?
It turned out that when the staff of the Beijing Zoo communicated with their foreign counterparts in the international zoo, they learned that there is a zoo in the United Kingdom that custom-made handmade sweaters for tortoises in cold weather.
"We think this is an effective way to keep warm." The staff explained that the tortoise's lungs are close to the carapace. If the ambient temperature is not enough, they are prone to respiratory diseases. Once they get pneumonia, they can easily lead to death.
Considering that young turtles are less able to withstand the cold, starting last year, they have customized a woolen version of baby warming suits for baby tortoises.
The indoor temperature of the elephant tortoise shelter is maintained at about 27°C.
Artifact 2 Yuba, warm air
Giant tortoises "sunbathe" and blow "sea breeze"
The orange light of Yuba showered down, forming a large circle of light on the ground, and the elephant tortoise was nestled in the warmth, motionless.
The breeder feeds it with fresh bananas. It is slow and too lazy to move its nest.
Except for the heating that is turned on just after October, the Yuba is the most common "warm-keeping artifact" in the zoo. The Yuba will turn on when the ambient temperature is below 24℃ every year.
There are two types of Yuba lamps. One is a yellow-emitting Yuba lamp, which is used to provide heat and is turned on for 24 hours; the other is a full-spectrum lamp that emits white light, which can imitate the ultraviolet and heat of sunlight. The device turns on, runs at 9 o'clock, and closes at 16 o'clock.
According to Qiao Yilun, the breeding supervisor of the amphibious crawling hall of the Beijing Zoo, the feeding behavior of giant tortoises is affected by temperature. If the temperature is too low, they will not be able to move normally.
"The lamp set provides an optional basking spot for the tortoise, which can reach 35°C within the basking spot. The tortoise likes to basking very much and warms the whole body before going to normal activities."
There are also 3 sets of air outlets in the elephant tortoise’s animal shelter, which continuously blow out warm air.
"This kind of giant tortoise is an island-type tortoise. It has sea breeze in its place of origin. There is no winter throughout the year. The temperature is between 24°C and 30°C." Qiao Yilun said. Maintain environmental humidity.
Turn on one set of warm air at the beginning of winter, and all three sets will be turned on at "March 9th" to keep the ambient temperature not lower than 25℃.
In addition, the reporter saw in the giant anteater shelter that a sink and green plants were placed on the heating of the shelter to increase the environmental humidity.
Artifact 3 Electric heating stone
"Electric blanket" promotes digestion of lizards
Except for the warm back, the stomach can't catch cold.
The desert lizard lay obediently on the stone, enjoying the warmth of its abdomen.
It is not a real stone, but an electric heating stone disguised as a stone.
If the bath heater is "sunbathing", the heating stone is equivalent to an "electric blanket".
In the wild environment, at noon, the sun roasts the stone warmly, and the lizard likes to lie on it. The warmth from the stone is transmitted to the abdomen, which can promote its digestion.
In the artificial breeding environment, the breeders also created natural ecological conditions for the lizards.
For amphibians and reptiles such as aquatic turtles and frogs distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions, the zoo uses heating rods to heat the water body to ensure that the animals live in the water body within the suitable water temperature range.
The hippo pavilion has a small boiler to heat water.
Artifact 4 hot water, straw mat
Hippo taking a warm bath
Black muntjac sleeps on the grass "mat"
When the weather got colder, the lively black muntjac had a soft grass "mat" to help it block the cold ground.
In the winter, the garden uses straw and fallen leaves to spread thick straw mats in the animal shelter to improve warmth retention.
In the hippopotamus pavilion, there is a small boiler used to heat the water to prepare for the hippopotamus.
The pool is supplied with constant temperature water. The hippo bathing in the pool can not only ensure the living habits but also protect against cold and warmth. The temperature of the hippo pool is usually 22℃-24℃.
According to Cao Yani, the technical director of the welfare group of the Beijing Zoo's breeding team, more than half of the animals in the zoo are from the tropics and the southern hemisphere. They are afraid of the cold and need extra care.
The garden also adjusted the feed, increased high-fat, high-calorie, and high-protein foods, and increased the animals' body fat content to improve the animals' ability to withstand severe cold.
In addition, curtains were added to the venues and animal access channels.
"For animals that are not particularly afraid of the cold, some animal houses only open wide and narrow doors to allow them to come and go freely, while ensuring the indoor temperature. When it is particularly cold, animals will no longer be released.
Beijing News reporter Zhang Lu