AccuWeather's Ali Reid was live from the Philadelphia Zoo on Dec. 12 to share how the zoo prepares its animals for winter.
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00:00And welcome back to AccuWeather Early, thanks for watching on this Thursday morning.
00:08As we continue to track the cold and some outdoor plans.
00:13Yeah, and temperatures drop.
00:15Not only does it affect us humans who are bundling up for winter, but animals are also
00:23impacted too.
00:24But how do creatures from all over the globe adjust to Pennsylvania's cold climate?
00:31Our Allie Reid is live in the Philadelphia Zoo this morning to show us how the zoo ensures
00:35its residents are comfortable and healthy during the colder months, Allie.
00:43Good morning guys, we are here.
00:45Can you believe the difference from yesterday?
00:47A lovely 60 degrees in December in Philadelphia.
00:51Today, very different scenario.
00:53Danny, how are you this morning?
00:54I'm good.
00:55How are you?
00:56I'm fantastic.
00:57Nice and bundled up.
00:58I see.
00:59I think that's the name of the game today.
01:00And I said, if we're going to come to the Philadelphia Zoo in the dead of winter, we
01:05have to see the penguins.
01:07We do.
01:08Which I love when we get that request because these penguins are not from the cold weather.
01:13They are hot weather penguins, which in fact, most penguins are.
01:17So a lot of people believe that all penguins live in Antarctica, right?
01:20Because all of the pictures that we see in movies and commercials, they have penguins
01:24waddling through the snow.
01:25They're all bundled up in their big layers.
01:27A bunch of the penguins that live around the world, only three of them live in cold weather
01:31all year round.
01:32These guys do not.
01:33By the way, they are so cute.
01:34I love how they look.
01:36I want to see if our photographer can get in close on them to give you a perspective
01:40of what they're doing.
01:41They are active this morning, by the way, which I love.
01:44And I hear that they kind of, when they're in their pods, they like to stick together.
01:48Is that kind of how they move about?
01:50Yeah.
01:51Penguins are extremely social creatures, which is really important because even when the
01:55penguins don't live in cold weather, these folks here, these penguins here live off the
01:58coast of South America near the Humboldt Current.
02:00That current is very cold.
02:02It comes up from Antarctica.
02:03So the penguins still do have to spend a lot of time fishing and they have to look out
02:07for each other.
02:08All penguin species are social like that.
02:10And then is this the time of year where you feel that they are the most active?
02:14Do they enjoy?
02:15I mean, I can imagine penguins probably love the cold weather.
02:19Is that right?
02:20They absolutely do.
02:21So these penguins, even though they live in hot temperatures, like I said, that cold water
02:25is what is home for them.
02:26So this pool is actually conditioned to be the same temperature basically all year round.
02:31That means in the summer, we actually have to chill it to be the right temperature for
02:35them.
02:36And in the winter, we might have to warm it up a little bit.
02:37Why is it so important here at the Philadelphia Zoo to make sure that you are adjusting and
02:42making sure that they are thriving in the environment here in Pennsylvania?
02:46So our mission is to make sure that people can see and understand and appreciate the
02:50wildlife that we love and care for.
02:51And we want them to be able to come to Philadelphia and see wildlife that they can't see in their
02:55backyards.
02:56So that means that if we bring in an animal like these guys who may be a little bit more
02:59comfortable in Chile or Argentina, we have to make sure that we can approximate that
03:02habitat as close as we can so that our penguins can be happy and healthy and behave like normal
03:08penguins.
03:09That's what's going to make people fall in love with them.
03:10What's their typical movement to right now?
03:12Obviously, we're seeing them enjoy the lovely, cold, crisp water.
03:16By the way, I don't think I would appreciate the temperature that you said that it is in
03:21this water right now.
03:22But also, at times, they like to sunbathe.
03:25So they are not only enjoying the water here, but enjoying the sun at times, too.
03:30Absolutely.
03:31When they get...
03:32This is a beautiful winter sunny day.
03:33Not too many clouds in the sky.
03:34So when they get out of this nice, cool pool that they're swimming in right now, that they're
03:37all kind of enjoying lazily, they're going to go out onto the beach over there and they're
03:41going to sunbathe.
03:42That's going to help warm them right back up out of these cold temperatures, and they
03:45are going to have a good time.
03:47Now, if they have a little bit of a burst of energy, if they get the penguin zoomies,
03:50as they say, they might start diving and swimming with a little bit more vigor.
03:54Right now, this is more like a lazy morning swim for them.
03:56No, I love that.
03:57I think that's really interesting.
03:58The penguin zoomies.
03:59Can we use that term from now on?
04:03You can use that with just about any animal.
04:04We use it all the time.
04:06I think that's great.
04:07So, you know, I think the biggest thing for them, you know, coming to a place like Philadelphia,
04:13it's an unusual location for them.
04:15Do you know, I'd be curious to know how long these penguins have been with the zoo for?
04:21Yeah, so what's interesting about most of the animals who live here, they don't have
04:24as much trouble adapting to our environment because a lot of these animals were either
04:28born in here, here in Philadelphia Zoo, or at another zoo in a similar climate.
04:32None of these penguins have ever lived in Chile or Argentina.
04:35Our animals come from other association of zoos and aquariums, accredited institutions.
04:39We trade animals back and forth all the time.
04:42So this is an endangered species.
04:43We're not taking them from the wild.
04:45They have lived in zoos their entire lives.
04:47So it doesn't take as much effort for them to get accustomed to someplace like Philadelphia,
04:51especially when they were born here.
04:52I love that.
04:53Can we start naming them all?
04:54I think we should have names.
04:55They actually do already have names.
04:57Every single one of them.
04:58Okay.
04:59Can you pick them all out?
05:00So from here, unfortunately, with the glare that we're dealing with, I can't see their
05:03little wing bands.
05:04I don't know if their wing bands are how we identify them.
05:05They each have their own unique color or beads that helps us identify which one they are.
05:09I love that.
05:10I made a comment earlier.
05:11I said, they all have eyebrows.
05:12They've got cute little eyebrows.
05:13They have very dramatic faces.
05:15Producers are wrapping me.
05:16If we could send it back over here, Will, if we can.
05:20But really quickly, in the next half hour, we're talking lions?
05:23Lions, which are an animal that's definitely not accustomed to Philadelphia winters.
05:27No tigers, no bears, oh my, just lions.
05:30But it will be interesting to hear how they are able to thrive in an environment like
05:34Philadelphia.
05:35We'll be checking with you in the next hour.
05:38How are those penguins, those guys?
05:40I mean, come on, you can't beat that.
05:42How cute are they?
05:43Cute.
05:44They remind me of the ones from Madagascar.
05:45Smile and wave, boys, smile and wave.
05:48So cute.
05:49All right, Allie, thanks for being live for us.