COLUMBIA, S.C. — In Columbia, temperatures have been creeping down into the teens this weekend, and most residents have avoided the outdoors and frigid conditions as much as possible.
Despite the cold, some of the animals at Riverbanks Zoo, like Koshka the Amur tiger, are thriving.
Anna Anderson, the cats and bears supervisor at Riverbanks Zoo, explained why their big cat loves these colder temperatures.
"She's an Amur tiger or a Siberian tiger - sometimes you hear both names, and it's the same species," Anderson said. "They are native to northern parts of Russia, which is quite cold, especially during the winter time. She [Koshka] is made to be in that cold weather, so they have a lot of different adaptations."
"They... grow a lot of extra fur - you might notice she's got a lot of fur around her neck that kind of looks like a mane," she added. "That's just to help keep her nice and cozy and warm. They also grow hair over their paw pads, so she has her own personal built-in gloves. She doesn't have to put on gloves for her little fingers and toes to keep them warm. It's natural for her to be in those cold environments."
Koshka's neighbor, Butch, the grizzly bear, is also more active in the cooler weather, and surprisingly so are the flamingos at the zoo.
Greg Peccie, the director of animal care and welfare at Riverbanks, said the flamingos are out in the cold in anticipation of the next season.
"The flamingos are definitely one of the bird species that's like, 'Okay, we're cool with this because we know what's coming next,' Peccie said. "The goal for them is to make sure that they're having their babies in a warmer time of the year. So, we're starting to see some behaviors out of our flamingo flock that they're taking advantage of the cold weather because they know after the cold weather comes the warm weather."
Although these animals like being out in the cooler temperatures, Peccie said they all have heated spaces to go into if needed. He said that for anyone coming to the zoo soon when it is cold out, there's still always something and someone to see.
The zoo continues its "Free Fridays" program for Richland and Lexington residents through the end of February. Proof of residency is all that's needed to enter.
