For over a week, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s Horticulture and Grounds team has been in full snow management mode, working to keep the Zoo operational following this major winter storm.

Assistant Curator of Horticulture and Grounds Doug Jones shares a first-hand account of this truly Herculean effort:

With many of our pathways offering no place to push, pile, or broom the snow safely, we shifted into large‑scale snow‑removal operations. Using our dump trucks, we’ve been hauling snow off grounds entirely and transporting it to the overflow parking lot for containment. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the equipment we used in these efforts, including a dump trucks and skid steer that were kindly provided through the generous support of the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).

So far, we’ve already removed more than 80 full dump‑truck loads, each weighing approximately 1,500 pounds (That’s a conservative approximation). That means we’ve transported over 120,000 pounds—or 60 tons—of snow in just three days. By the time we wrap up on Friday night, we expect to reach around 120 loads total, pushing our efforts to an impressive 180,000 pounds (90 tons) of snow moved.

Fun Facts for Perspective:

• 90 tons of snow is roughly the weight of 18 adult African elephants or 36 white rhinoceroses.
• If you lined up 120 dump‑truck loads of snow end‑to‑end, you’d have enough to build a snow wall taller than a giraffe and longer than the entire African Savanna pathway.

These efforts highlight how much behind‑the‑scenes work goes into keeping the Zoo safe, accessible, and soon to be ready for guests—even when Mother Nature decides to be extra generous with the snowfall!