Golden autumn has finally come to Roev Ruchey Zoo – the time of active preparation for winter. Monkeys and meerkats have already moved to warm enclosures, renovated over the summer. Many inhabitants are preparing for hibernation. Badgers, raccoons and raccoon dogs will soon fall asleep in their warm houses, to only wake up with the arrival of spring. Groundhogs will stay in hibernation the longest, as they burrow into their dig ups in the first half of September, and wake up only in May.

With the beginning of autumn, nature gives a signal – hey you, you need to eat up!. since the body weight of an average animal needs to increase by approx. 30-40% in order to survive the winter naturally. Zoologists are helping their subjects gain weight already, by increasing the feed volume by 20-50%. Their main diet is porridge, but not just any porridge is not simple, the bear special. It is cooked according to a special recipe: four types of cereal, a lot of condensed milk, honey, pine nuts, raisins, cottage cheese and fresh quail eggs.

For dessert, the bears enjoy some fresh apple harvest. The caretakers try to pamper their favorites, – after all, hibernation will last until spring. By the end of autumn, the food ration of these animals will begin to gradually decrease, and with the onset of cold weather, they will stop feeding altogether. For bears, this is a signal – time to go to sleep.

The rest of the inhabitants of Roev Ruchey Park will welcome guests in any weather. Those who are not at all afraid of cold will change into their winter coats and entertain the Zoo visitors in outdoor enclosures. The foxes have already become prettier, as their fur coat thickens with the onset of cold weather, becomes longer, and a warm undercoat protects the animal from the cold even on a frosty day.

Camels, deer, bisons, musk oxens and ibexes also got their winter clothes – warm thick fur, now they can forget about cold for a long time. The hares have also taken care of themselves; soon they will change into white fur coats.