Zoology and Biology teacher, Andrew Kefabber, and student Lauren Burns talk about protecting wildlife during the winter.

Staying protected during a winter storm isn’t just for humans, but for animals too. This Indiana winter has been a whirlwind and animals need to be kept safe. It’s not just domesticated animals that face harsh winters but endangered species too.

“What bald eagles will do, a lot of times they’ll go to large bodies of water. They’ll go to areas like reservoirs. We have some reservoirs throughout Indiana, around Bloomington there’s reservoirs. A lot of times they’ll be at the still ways, that’s an easy place for them to get fish,” teacher Andrew Kefabber said.

The bald-eagle population is on a rise, there used to be none at all. Kefabber finds it important to protect them.

“When I was your age [teenager], to see a bald eagle you would have to go to Florida or Canada. They’ve done well, they’ve kind of adapted to some different environments, some different conditions than they used to have,” Kefabber said.

A CNHS student is also helping out domestic and livestock animals during the winter. Junior Lauren Burns learned quite a lot about taking care of animals from her family and an animal science classes.

“A couple winters ago, I was volunteering for Reins to Recovery, which is a therapeutic riding place,” Burns said. “I had to keep a horse’s hooves cleaned because he had thrush and he was on stall rest for a while,”

Lauren explained that not all animals need care during the winter. She learned this from an animal science class last year.

“Livestock animals, they aren’t as domesticated as people think,” Burns said, “Cows are fine on their own because they have had to live and be dependent on each other for a much longer time. Livestock animals are very [much more] capable of defending themselves and keeping themselves safer than a dog would,”

Keeping animals, especially endangered species, safe during the winter is vital for our ecosystem.

“A little bit of sacrifice for a huge gain… if we improve their environment we also protect our own resources,” Kefabber said.