Manager Spends 3 Nights At Zoo To Keep Animals Safe During Massive Blizzard

March 21, 2026

When a powerful blizzard buried parts of Wildwood Zoo under more than two feet of snow, one dedicated manager refused to leave his post.

Kyle Kirk, the zoo’s manager in Marshfield, Wisconsin, spent three straight nights at the facility, making sure every animal—across all 27 species—was safe and cared for during the extreme weather.

Kyle Kirk / WSAW NewsChannel 7

“This is the most snow I think I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” Kirk said, describing the intensity of the storm. At one point, conditions were so severe that he was completely trapped inside the staff building. “There was a solid hour that I really couldn’t help really anybody because I was completely snowed in.”

But as soon as he was able to get outside, Kirk got to work.

He began digging out smaller animals that had been buried under the snow, including quail, prairie dogs, and skunks.

“I was able to dig them out… our skunks were completely snowed in,” he said. Despite the serious situation, there was even a moment of humor. “It was kind of comical because I think our skunks thought that I brought the snow… they were stomping at me and saying, ‘Oh, you can take away the snow now.’”

Kirk carved pathways through enclosures so animals like porcupines and skunks could move around again, and he made sure foxes—who had already shed their winter coats—were warm enough to handle the sudden freeze.

Meanwhile, some of the zoo’s larger residents took the storm in stride. The Kodiak bears lounged comfortably, and the lynx seemed right at home in the deep snow.

“It was really fun to see him walking on top of the snow with his great big paws,” Kirk said. “He could have went for another two feet for sure.” Not all animals fared as easily, though. Kirk even had to lift sandhill cranes out of the snow after they became stuck.

For Kirk, staying through the storm wasn’t a question—it was part of the job.

“A lot of other people can call in sick or get snowed in, but simply, I can’t,” he said. “There’s really no reason to have these animals if we’re not going to care for them in the best possible way at our disposal.”