Brookfield Zoo's Polar Bears Right At Home In Chicago's Arctic Chill
CHICAGO (CBS) -- You might have been doing everything you can to go outside the past few days, but a few creatures in Chicago are loving the frigid temperatures.
"This is great weather for them," Brookfield Zoo senior vice president Bill Zeigler said of the two polar bears at the Great Bear Wilderness exhibit.
Aussie and his son Hudson feel right at home in the frigid temperatures.
"When you take a look at their body size, and the type of fur they have, with the hollow hairs and stuff that really support insulation and retaining their body heat, it's just perfect weather for them," he said.
Zeigler said Aussie so liked the weather the other night – when wind chills were as cold as 20 below zero – he slept outside; he curled up, threw one of his massive paws over his face to protect his nose from the cold, and went to sleep.
"The only exposed area they really have is the tips of their nose, and so they put their paws or their front legs over their face; that gets covered up, and they just, they're comfy," he said.
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The polar bears even have been known to take a dip in their pool in this weather.
"Because of their hair that is hollow shaft to hold the heat in, and the fact that they do have a very kind of oily body, they're pretty much waterproof," Zeigler said.
The water in the pool is warmer than the air, so it's like a hot tub to the bears.
"Our water in our exhibit goes through a filtration process where it picks up the natural heat of the pumps and the filters and everything, and it comes out much warmer than a wind chill factor of 20 below," Zeigler said.
