Wild on WANE: Winter Update

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -  The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo season runs from April through October with special events and camps for kids at addtional select times of the year. 

More than 1,000 animals call the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo home and the animals come from various climate regions around the world and, as you can imagine, many are not used to the cold winters experienced in northeast Indiana.

Many people wonder about what happens to these animals during the winter and plenty are surprised that every animal remains on the zoo grounds during the winter.  No animals are transported to winter homes at other zoos or other locations.

"Most people are surprised by that.  It's one of the number one questions we get, 'Where are the animals in wintertime.'"  And, in the old days, meaning the 60s and 70s, a lot of the animals used to leave in the winter and return in the summer.  That is not the case anymore.  The modern zoo is committed to maintaining their animals throughout the animal's lifetime.  So, everything you see in the summer is still here at the zoo," said Fort Wayne Children's Zoo's Education and Communications Director Cheryl Piropato.

NewsChannel 15's Nicholas Ferreri has more on how the zoo keeps the animals happy and healthy during the cold months in his video report.