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Phoenix Zoo keeps animals safe for days-long storms
The Phoenix Zoo enacts its "30/30 rule" for storm preparation, bringing animals like the giraffes and the tiger, Raja, inside to protect them from high winds and the danger of lightning strikes. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.
PHOENIX - As residents in the Valley prepare for storms heading into the weekend, so do the animals at the Phoenix Zoo.
Many animals are now tucked away until the storms pass. FOX 10 got a first-hand look at the zoo's process.
What we know:
Some animals at the Phoenix Zoo have the luxury of staying outside when a storm is expected overnight. Other animals have to be brought inside, leaving their outside habitat empty. Take Raja the tiger, for example; he is enjoying his time inside and eating his dinner.
"He is just going to be super comfortable in here during the storm," said Joaquin Hidalgo with the Phoenix Zoo. "He'll have access first thing in the morning once we come back and we make sure that everything is nice and secure."
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Hidalgo explained that giraffes also stay inside during storms for multiple reasons. "Giraffes are actually prone to being struck by lightning with their heads being so high up in the sky. If there's lightning in the area, they actually have to come indoors... We also don't want a giraffe to slip and bump their heads because their heads are nearly 20 feet in the air, so a trip for them can be lethal."
The Phoenix Zoo doesn't take chances when it comes to caring for these animals.
Raja the tiger at the Phoenix Zoo
‘We go by a 30/30 rule’
"Once we find out that there's going to be a chance of a storm, we go by a 30/30 rule," Hidalgo said. "So a 30% chance of rain, 30% chance of heavy winds. We start to do our storm access protocols so keepers know, 'OK, animals will have to be locked in overnight and given access next thing in the morning.' But yeah, everyone's ready. This is pretty much just clockwork for everyone now."
Hidalgo says the zoo is open rain or shine, and it’s rare the zoo closes due to weather.
"Our team out there, whether it's operations or zookeepers, are going to be stacking a lot of sandbags and just making sure that, you know, things that are on the floor that we don't want to get wet, we lift up," Hidalgo said. "But pretty much every habitat is designed to withstand storms like this in Phoenix, so we don't have to worry too, too much."
Fun fact: It’s best to come to the zoo when it’s raining because that’s when the animals are most active.