Humans aren't the only Beijing residents that wait for officials to turn on the heat every year. Just ask Mengzai, the zoo's resident anteater.
Happily basking under his newly-installed heat lamps, Mengzai is one of the Beijing Zoo's 3,809 animals that has been outfitted for the cold winter months, Beijing News reported Monday.
Every year employees make sure the zoo's 411 species get proper heating in their enclosures and high-calorie diets according to their natural habitats.
"In September, we made sure a large group of animals that is sensitive to cold received preferential heat," a zoo employee said.
By October, the zoo's 13 tropical enclosures and remaining animals were being kept warm and toasty with hot stones, heat lamps and extra bedding, said another employee.
As a rule, the zoo kicks on the heat for tropical animals once the city experiences temperatures below 14 C for three consecutive nights.
Also just like humans, animals have to watch what they eat during the winter.
"Caretakers will adjust their diets to make sure they're getting enough calories to stay warm," the employee said.
