Warm up to winter

Shanghai wildlife park makes sure their African guests kept healthy and warm over the icy winter months.

African chimpanzees with their keeper in Shanghai Wild Animal Park. [Photos by Gao Erqiang / China Daily]

As the wind sweeps across the plains of the Yangtze River Delta, swirling up fallen leaves and stirring debate about whether central heating is necessary in China's southern cities, about 500 inhabitants of Shanghai Wild Animal Park have already been promised a cosy winter.

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Keepers have been busy making sure the more than 30 species from Africa have all the creature comforts for the cold months ahead.

With 24-hour air-conditioning in almost every enclosure, different species are afforded special care according to their needs. For animals, such as giraffes, who only stay indoors at night to sleep, the sleety winter that could last as long as four months in Shanghai is always tough.

Luckily, the tallest residents, who have been lodging at the city's only wildlife zoo since it opened in 1995, have almost grown immune to the low temperatures and dampness.

"We started by letting them move around outside for two hours on a sunny day, and then three, four hours, etc," says Shen Hao, the director of herbivore management for the African safari section.

"As they grow accustomed to the environment, they also have some outdoor sports to keep them fit and warm — stretching their necks, doing a few kicks and the like."

The 35-year-old zookeeper has been looking after the dozen giraffes, together with 100 other animals, since they arrived. Every day he and his colleagues take at least four tours in their camouflaged van around the 21-hectare African section, the largest one in the park, to make sure "everyone is fine".

"The first few days of every winter are usually the most difficult," Shen says.

Of course, the animals do not complain when they have a cold or fever, but veteran caretakers like Shen can tell from their behavior or droppings when something is wrong.

The giraffes' neighbors, the hippos, on the other hand, are much tougher, making them easier to take care of, although they only moved into the park, in Pudong New Area, about 35 kilometers from the city center, a couple of months ago.

All the three newbies, Jixiang, Shasha and Sibao, ask for is a hot spring with a constant temperature in which to loll away most of the day.