Stella’s mother, Abby, strolls over for her share, and the Philadelphia Zoo’s two female giraffes quickly strip the handful of branches, consuming approximately a pound of leaves in mere minutes. Fortunately, the zoo has plenty of the snack, thanks in part to an unusual source: the local power company. Of the Philadelphia Zoo’s 330 species, 40 eat it — from giraffes and giant tortoises to gorillas and little rodents called degus. The Philadelphia Zoo has its own farm, and it also purchases browse from a Florida farm that grows browse for zoo animals. The Brookfield and Philadelphia zoos’ partners, ComEd and PECO, are both owned by Exelon Corp., a Chicago-based power company that operates in 48 states and Canada.

Source: Washington Post December 05, 2017 12:35 UTC