COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — As colder temperatures loom, extra precautions are being taken for the animals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. Greg Peccie, Director of Animal Care, says preparations for the cold started months ago. “You know, making sure our heaters are working, making sure we have the appropriate way to set animals up in their back bedrooms for the night, but as we go into tonight we’re going to be doing special things for the animals,” he says. Which includes giving out extra food, providing additional bales of hay and straw for bedding, and breaking the ice in water troughs. “First thing in the morning we know we’re gonna walk around and break the ice on the water troughs. Very similar to people who live in the community here with horses. They will take precautions and make sure there’s additional feed thrown to them but they will also make sure they do have access to water,” he says. And just as travel delays effect holiday packages, supplies for the animals are no different. “We have to be prepared knowing that if there’s going to be icy conditions, we want to make sure that we’ve got enough of our groceries in the commissary to be able to take care of our animals if there’s going to be a delay in shipment,” he says. So which animals are ready for the summer and which are loving the cold? “We’ve got some animals like our gorillas that are like ‘Forget it, I’m gonna be inside, put me where the heaters are.’ But then on the flip side, we have our Amur Tiger, they come from Northern Russia, and she loves this time of year. We talk a lot about our reptiles being ectotherms or cold blooded. Their temperature is gonna be reliant on the external temperature so yea our tortoises are gonna be locked up inside. They’re gonna have access to heat,” he says. Riverbanks Zoo is open year round, with winter hours currently set from 9 a.m. to 4 in the afternoon. On January 10th, the zoo will close at 2 p.m. due to inclement weather. “The animals need us, so our team will be here when it’s freezing cold and our team will be here when it’s really hot,” says Peccie. Categories: Local News, News Tags: animals, Cold weather, Greg Peccie, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden