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ALBANY, GA -- Cold temperatures can be rough on anyone, even those with a few extra layers of fur.

You’d never know it by watching them enjoy their lunch or relaxing in the sun but the staff at Chehaw has to keep a close eye on the animals when cooler temperatures come to town.

"Shivering a lot," said Kevin Hils, Zoo Director the Chehaw Wild Animal Park. "Are they dropping off their food? Those are the things we become very attune to to finding out if they’re being taxed further by the weather."  

Some residents, like the Flamingos, spend the winter months indoors.

Others get by on additional supplies.

"Some of the animals, we may give extra bedding to," said Hils. "Some of the colobus monkeys, they’ve got some extra bedding. We do the same thing with a lot of the hoof stock as well."

While the animals are in captivity, their basic needs are provided for. But when temperatures drop out in the wild, food and shelter can be very hard to come by.

"Those animals," said Hils. "They get everything. They get the best of the best. They’re getting plenty of calories. They’ve got the best sweet potatoes, the best apples."

And while the animals chill in the chilly weather, Chehaw officials use the downtime to reenergize.

"It’s a good time for us to do maintenance work and get ready because we know the weather’s going to turn nice and people are going to be pouring out here again," said Doug Porter, Executive Director for Chehaw.