It is with us that animals also feel cold.
The season is December, and recently it has been cold enough to frost every morning here in Tokyo.
In response to the cold, we humans can take measures against the cold by putting on winter kimono and wearing winter shoes. Some hands remain confined in a heated room.
However, animals do not.
Far from being warm clothes, they are completely empty-handed without carrying anything, including other things.
Whether it's wind, rain, snow, or snowstorm, you have to endure it empty-handed and stay alive.
And the result of living and connecting lives for many years in that environment is the present living figure.
Such animals have refined various techniques to survive the cold.
Animals that grow from summer hair to winter hair, animals that hibernate, and animals that move to warm places.
Migratory birds can fly far away, but mammals that can't fly can't.
The animals in the zoo are also protected from the wind, rain and cold, as they have shelters, but the cold you feel when you go outside is the same.
At Inokashira Park Zoo, I found a monkey preparing for such a cold winter and a squirrel withstanding the cold through the viewfinder.
A monkey that bites into the cold winter and autumn that is about to begin
A monkey that bites the fallen leaves against the background of a ginkgo in full of yellow leaves.
Before the cold winter, he seems to be biting into the fall and dandruffing.
Do you wish you hadn't come in winter?
Squirrels who are not good at cold
Among the squirrels, there are chipmunks that hibernate, but the Nihon squirrels found here in Inokashira Park do not hibernate.
I don't hibernate, so I feel like I'm strong against the cold, but when I look at it, it doesn't seem to be so.
In Inokashira Park, the squirrel trail, there are many squirrel nests, not bird's nests.
Squirrels who were very active from spring to early summer.
Squirrels who are hard to get out of the birdhouse
Even if it's cold outside, it looks warm if you get close to each other in the nest.
From such a warm and cozy nest, it seems that you do not want to go out into the cold sky, and squirrels do not come out easily in the cold season.
Even if it comes out, it will soon return to the warm nest when it is done.
Around this time when it gets colder day by day, I try to attract dead leaves, but I can't reach them
The squirrel that came out of such a nest seems to want to bring dead leaves into such a nest.
Dead leaves provide a soft cushion and can be warmed up, so you probably want to make the nest environment more comfortable.
At present, somebody has already picked up such dead leaves and things that can be easily picked up.
Meanwhile, moderately dry dead leaves still remained on the branches of the tree, within easy reach!
The squirrel ran up to the tree and went to pick up the dead leaves.
I try to get out to the last minute of the scaffolding, but I can reach the dead leaves, but I can not grasp it anyway.
The expression of the squirrel is serious. "It's almost reachable!"
I tried to grab the dead leaves over and over again, but I almost fell off.
I did my best, but in the end I gave up.
A squirrel that was about to fall from a high place trying to get rid of dead leaves, like us, seemed to be cold sweating.
In the birdhouse, keep your bodies close to each other and keep warm
It's very cold this evening.
Most squirrels sneak into their nests and squeeze together, even though it's still a while before nightfall. On a cold day, it's like this from the morning.
I'm sure it's cold, so I'm sure I'll fall asleep today without going out of the nest.
Even though there are many empty birdhouses around, there are some birdhouses where squirrels gather.
This birdhouse seems to be popular among squirrels.
Is it also a popular female squirrel or male squirrel?
There seems to be such a reason for some reason.
Even if I go there at a later date, the situation will be the same.
The birdhouse is different, but there was a nest that the squirrel wanted to approach.
Even things that can't be put in the nest are on the roof.
Is the squirrel on the roof of the nest waiting for the nest to become empty?
The nest next door is vacant! Tight, I want, I want!
If you block the entrance with your face, the inside of the nest will be warmer.
Those who are out can breathe fresh air, but the squirrels inside are likely to suffer.
Occasionally painful squirrels push the squirrels that block the doorway of the nest and come out.
Even so, even though the nest next door is vacant, why do you hang out on the roof and gather in this nest?
In contrast to the squirrels, who are vulnerable to such cold weather, there are some squirrels that can easily enter the water.
The otter is an Eurasian otter.
Eurasian otter that came to Inokashira Park in 2017
This Eurasian otter came from Aquamarine Inawashiro Kawasemi Aquarium in 2017. The name is Hana (female).
When the caretaker went, he was just asleep, and he didn't seem to be very active.
One day when the sun went up, I was able to see him swimming around in the water many times.
It's sunny, but it's the coldest time of January, when we don't think we'll swim.
Eurasian otter that swims calmly in the water even in winter
It seems that the way they feel about the cold and the animals are different.
The zoo is where you can easily see how animals live.
The zoo in cold weather is also interesting.
When I'm in Japan, I'm a caretaker who stops by at the zoo.
But don't get me wrong, they are the true way of life of the animals.
Their way of life in nature is completely different from human captivity.
If you can't get food yourself, you will starve and be directly connected to your life, and your life will always be targeted by foreign enemies. The spouse must also win.
Animals living in such an environment are constantly sharpened in body and mind, and their entire bodies are shining.
Especially the brilliance of the eyes is completely different.
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