With winter coming, the Dakota Zoo soon will take on a whole new look.

Not only are the days and hours it's open scaled back, but some of the zoo's nonnative species will begin their "migration" indoors.

"The rule is when it's a constant 40 or lower night temperature," senior zookeeper Sonya Friesz said of the annual transfer to the warmth of a barn on the zoo grounds.

She and senior zookeeper Greg Schmit are prime movers during the autumn and spring shufflings of animals that aren't well adapted to living outside during Bismarck winters.

"We like to leave them out as long as possible before we round them up and move them in," Schmit said.

Spider monkeys, lemurs, emus, muntjacs, coatis, parrots, waterfowl, aquarium fish, alligators and other reptiles are among the zoo's residents that will sit out winter inside cozier comforts.

"Catching them all is the hardest part," Friesz said. "The waterfowl are sneaky, and some are good fighters."

The muntjac, a small deer, also is capable of kicking hard. "It has sharp hooves that can tear your clothes," she added.

"And the lemurs are quick," said zookeeper Sara Souther.

The alligators will go into the veterinary building, where they will be put into a semi-dormant state, Schmit said.

The gators will have access to water and food, but the temperature in the building will be lowered to put them into quasi-hibernation, he said.

Accessibility to the animals that are moved indoors offers zookeepers an opportunity to perform tests and give shots to those animals that need them.

And some animals, such as the Bactrian camels, that may seem such likely candidates for heading indoors will stay out in the cold. These camels aren't desert-dwelling dromedaries but a two-humped species found in harsher climes of northern China and Mongolia.

The animals that stay out year-round hail mostly from close to the 48th parallel, a latitude that slices through North Dakota.

But even those winter-hardened critters do have shelters, where they can take refuge from snowstorms, blizzards or when the mercury goes on extended plunges below zero, Schmit said.

"A lot of times the camels don't use the shelters," Schmit said.

About 10 percent of the zoo's animals are moved inside for the winter, said zoo director Terry Lincoln.

Those animals sheltered inside are not available for viewing during the zoo's winter hours, which are 1 to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The winter schedule started Saturday.

A $1.9-million zoo fundraiser that's getting underway is aimed at constructing not only a large-cat exhibit, but also new buildings that would allow many of the winter transplants to be exhibited year-round, Lincoln said.

Winter trips to the zoo also offer a different perspective on some animals, said Schmit, who listed the Bactrian camels with their shaggy winter coats and the fun that river otters have frolicking in the snow.

"I think the otters have more fun in the snow than in the water," he said.

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktri-bune.com.)