When severe weather hits, people know to take shelter, but what do lions and tigers do?
Kathy Eltzroth of Elkhart has a Good Question: “What happens to the animals at Potawatomi Zoo during a tornado warning?"June has brought a lot of severe weather and a lot of damage. Days after the storms, it's still not hard to find the debris.
Trees also came down at South Bend's Potawatomi Zoo. But what does the zoo do to protect animals when bad weather is on the way?
First, animals that normally are on exhibit or outside are moved inside for protection. That even includes animals that normally spend all their time outside.
Zoo staff say they always check and maintain enclosures — from locking mechanisms to doors, cages and holding areas. The goal is for everything to be secure, to limit any chance for an animal to get loose if a strong storm damages something. Then, after the storm passes, all those items are checked again to make sure animals can't get out.
Fortunately, despite the many recent strong storms, any damage to the zoo has been minor.
If severe weather is a threat, the zoo has someone monitor the weather and radar to keep staff updated. And if a storm hits at night, there is always someone on site to monitor any damage.
