News 40 Weather Reports: Kentucky Down Under shares severe weather safety lessons

HORSE CAVE, Ky. (WNKY) – As the typical severe weather season continues across Kentucky, staff at Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo say preparing animals for storms shares a lot in common with how families should prepare at home.

Zoo employees monitor forecasts closely, communicate through group chats and weather alerts, and move animals into protected shelters when dangerous weather approaches.

“We all have a contingency plan that everybody the employees are aware of,” said Alexis Weber, animal manager at Kentucky Down Under.

Weber said staff rely on multiple ways to receive warnings, including weather apps and weather radios, especially during severe weather outbreaks.

“Not always are you going to guarantee if your phone’s charged,” Weber said. “Anything can happen.”

Assistant General Manager James Cliburn said employees often track storms in real time using radar systems and weather updates throughout the day.

“You’ll have an employee when a big storm is coming, they’ll have the radar pulled up,” Cliburn said.

When tornado warnings are issued, staff and guests move into the cave system on the property, which Cliburn described as the zoo’s safest shelter area.

“It’s a very secure place,” Cliburn said. “It’s been here for a million years or more.”

Staff members also say some animals appear to sense changing weather conditions before storms arrive. Cliburn pointed to the zoo’s fennec foxes and birds, which often change behavior ahead of rain and thunderstorms.

“The fox, for example, they’re very sensitive to weather change,” Cliburn said. “I think it’s those big ears.”

Zoo officials say the biggest lesson severe weather has taught staff is the importance of preparation, something meteorologists also stress to the public during severe weather season.