Nashville Zoo’s red pandas and Sumatran tiger thrived in the snow — and now zookeepers are handling the weather whiplash

Wintery weather can be polarizing — especially for those of us in the South. But some Nashville transplants fare better than others.

Nashville Zoo’s red pandas, Bo and Mai Lee, couldn’t get enough of the snow and cold, according to their zookeeper Sloane Campbell.

Red pandas are probably best known for their appearance in Mozilla Firefox’s logo or the Disney movie “Turning Red.” The species is from the icy, cold Himalayas, so they’re built for wintry weather. But Bo also has quite a bit of experience.

“He was brought up in Canada and most recently was in North Dakota,” Campbell said. “So, he’s used to it a little bit more than Mai Lee, who’s been here for the last, about five years.”

Red pandas, Bo and Mai Lee, enjoy the snow in their exhibit at the Nashville Zoo. Their coats, which have a water-resistant top layer and insulating bottom layer, make them well suited to play in the cold.

She says their coats work like a husky’s — it’s a double coat, with a course, water-resistant outside and soft, insulating underside. But their feet are arguably even better suited for the snow than a husky’s.

“They don’t have paw pads on the bottoms of their feet,” Campbell said. “They don’t have toe beans like your dog or cat would. It’s all fur. So that does give them a better grip in the snow as they climb around.”

That being said, Bo and Mei Lee still needed a little extra help from their keepers after the recent winter storm.

“They had to go and clear off all of their perching,” she said. “We had the 4 or 5 inches of accumulation on all of the places where they like to hang out on the exhibit, and they had to go through and push it all off and, make the perches how they prefer them.”

Other animals come from warm climates, but went out and enjoyed the snow anyway.

“Our tiger, Felix, is hanging out,” Campbell said. “He’s got a nice little heated bed in the viewing area, so he gets to see everyone.”

Felix and Anne’s three cubs were born on October 20. (Photo credit: Nashville Zoo)

Nashville Zoo’s tigers are Sumatran — a species native to the rainforest. But Felix seemed to enjoy climbing around in the snow nonetheless. His cubs — Zara, Kirana and Bulan — stayed inside with their mother, Anne.

Campbell said a few breeds hated the snow. That included Bosa. She’s a pudu — a tiny South American relative of Tennessee’s white-tail deer.

“She just moved to us from L.A.,” she said. “I believe that was the first time she’s seen snow. And she was not sure what to think of it. She kind of ran around. She wasn’t sure why all the cold, wet stuff was touching her feet.”

Although snow was covering the ground and dripping off roofs on Monday, just a few days later, temperatures were balmy in the 60s. Campbell said animals like the red pandas will weather that just fine — with a little help.

“It’ll just kind of be a more, sped up version of getting to spring,” she said. “So it’s a change that would happen (anyway). We try not to shock their systems too much. We try and keep indoor temperatures — what they have inside their buildings — similar enough so that it’s not a big shock to their system. Just like for us, it’s not fun if we go inside and outside from, you know, really cold to, really hot. It’s not fun for them either.”