After last year’s summer of flooding, Bismarck’s Dakota Zoo is operating with updates and plenty of attendance.
“Compared to last summer everything is going much better this year. We are not dealing with ground water, flood issues, and movement of animals,” assistant zoo director Rod Fried said.
The zoo was closed for six weeks last summer. It reopened early July 2011. Since then, it has been open year around.
“We got a little bit behind on some the maintenance issues,” Fried said. “It was too wet to work in.”
The zoo is working on fixing the fencing areas. Fried says this is typically on a continual basis for the zoo.
“We’re really enjoying this part of the summer, other than being a little hot this last week, but well take that over the flood anytime,” Fried said.
The zoo makes sure animals have access to fresh clean water and plenty of shade.
“A lot of these animals are native to this area; it’s not something they are unfamiliar with. We also remember that there are wild animals dealing with this same (heat) as well and they probably don’t have the same comforts we have here at the zoo,” Fried said.
Fried said the animals are least active during the hottest part of the day. He recommends for visitors to come in the earlier or later parts of the day if they wish to see the most animal activity.