Cold wave kills 34 animals at Mexican zoo

Ciudad Juarez (Mexico), Feb 6 (IANS/EFE) At least 34 animals, including two crocodiles and a monkey, died at a zoo in Chihuahua state from the cold wave that have affected northern Mexico over the last few days, authorities said.

The dramatic drop in temperatures, which plunged as low as 20 degrees Celsius below zero in some towns in Chihuahua state, caused the deaths of 34 animals in the zoo at Ciudad Aldama.

Five iguanas, two crocodiles, a capuchin monkey, 15 parakeets and 12 serpents lost their lives from hypothermia, said the zoo’s owner Alberto Hernandez.

The owner said that the icy temperatures in most of the state over past few days caused power outages that forced personnel to try and warm some parts of the zoo with wood fires in an attempt to save the animals’ lives.

But the extreme cold, which began last Wednesday with temperatures not seen in the region since 1956, caused the animals’ deaths.

–IANS/EFE