ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — As temperatures dip across Northeast Florida, zoo leaders at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm are making changes behind the scenes to keep their animals safe and warm.
When temperatures fall past a certain point, staff begin modifying habitats by adding heat lamps, turning on space heaters, and in some cases, moving animals indoors altogether.
On colder days, visitors may notice steam rising off the lagoons. That’s because the water is well-fed and naturally stays in the 70s, but it’s also backed up by a hot water loop and additional heaters that can warm the pools even more, sometimes close to 100 degrees.
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“For reptiles, our (water) temperatures start at 70 degrees and under,” said Dan Carvalho with the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. “We have to start taking some cold-weather protocols for some of our animals.”
Every pool in the park is kept in the low-to-mid 70s, even when outside temperatures drop into the teens. That’s why alligators, a native species, can often still be seen basking in the sun on cold days.
“Alligators you will see out and about because this is a native species,” Carvalho said. “They can handle these temperatures. But for a lot of our other animals, they might just not be on display.”
Many of the animals at the Alligator Farm come from tropical climates and simply aren’t built for cold weather. That’s where the farm’s temperature-based protocols come into play.
“If it gets below certain temperatures, we enact different parts of the protocol,” said Megan Victoriano with the farm. “Starting at 65 degrees, we start offering some of our animals’ heat. And all the way down to 40 degrees, we start bringing animals in for the night.”
Zoo leaders say even if some animals aren’t as active, or aren’t visible at all, winter visits can still be worth it.
“Even though it’s cold and you might not see the most active behavior from a lot of our animals that are outside, it’s always worth coming,” Carvalho said. “You’re going to see something cool.”
Cold-weather protocols will remain in place until temperatures climb back up and the current cold snap passes.
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