ALLENWOOD, Pa. — Clyde Peeling's Reptiland is one of many businesses that was forced to close its doors because of the government's shutdown due to the coronavirus.
But the zoo near Allenwood is in a unique situation.
Even though it is closed to the public, there is still very much happening here behind the scenes.
"Our reptiles are animals that cannot take care of themselves, said Senior Zookeeper Kathryn Allen. "They still need to be fed and cleaned, so we're still here every day of the week."
Allen said that with more than 800 mouths to feed at the zoo, life here must go on.
"They're still receiving the highest level of care that we give them. They're getting fed everything they need," Allen said. "We are here for them. They're still the number one priority at the zoo."
Reptiland does not bring in revenue when it is closed, but it still has most of its expenses.
"We also are a little less staffed than normal because we're not open to the public," Allen explained. "So that is a little bit of a morale loss because we don't have everybody currently working."
Some of the animals really seem to miss the zoo being open because they like that human interaction. So the zookeepers have been trying to spend as much time with them as possible.
"Our parakeets are very used to having daily interactions with guests and being fed by people," Allen said.
The parakeets, as well as Al and Henry, the Aldabra tortoises, are getting extra attention.
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