Snow fun for some: White stuff divides opinion at Dudley Zoo - in pictures
Snow doubt about it - the white stuff is here in droves and animals at Dudley Zoo have divided opinions on it.
Camels were left looking confused, while reindeer were captured literally jumping for joy in the wintry conditions.
Most of the zoo's animals, such as the Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, Bornean orangutans, chimpanzees, meerkats, anteater and Madagascan lemurs opted out of the snow all together - and instead preferred to spend their days enjoying enrichment activities inside their heated and insulated dens.
It was the first time the zoo's Brazilian tapir juvenile Luna had ever seen snow, so she couldn't resist a quick gambol around her paddock, say staff.
The red pandas, Humboldt penguins, Patagonian sealions and snowy owls, meanwhile, were in their element outside.
Press officer for the Dudley attraction, Rachel Hickman, said: "Despite the weather and the closure of the zoo to visitors on Friday, yesterday and today, it’s still business as usual for our dedicated keeping staff and gardening team who battled through the snowdrifts to make sure our animals still received the best possible care.
"Our curators keep a close eye on the weather forecasts so we were well prepared for the last few days and had stocked up on dry feed, straw and hay, which keepers had to manually haul around the hilly site due to limited vehicle access, which is when sledges came in very useful.
"This weekend also provided great opportunities for our staff to snap some fantastic wintry photos and videos of our animals in the snow."
Wintry weather duties include keeping enclosure roofs and food troughs free of snow, as well as making sure pools and water bowls are free of ice.
Staff also make up food and drinks with warm water and keep a close eye on temperature gauges inside the insulated animal houses, with additional heating brought in if needed.
