It may be the middle of winter, but the animals at the Potawatomi Zoo are not shying away this season.

The line was long for the first Winter Days event with families taking advantage of a day that could be spent outdoors to give the kids a special treat. With only a little bit of snow still on the ground hundreds made their way out to check out the animals.

Zoo staff members say the attendance surpassed their expectations. There were a few new faces at the zoo, including a new chimpanzee from Florida.

“It was actually our daughter's idea,” said Brian Schaible a zoo visitor. “She has the calendar at home that says Saturday is Winter Day. We didn't even know it was open. So we said hey nice weather we might as well go out to the zoo.”

“It is kind of interesting because it is still winter but really warm a lot of animals are out and moving around,” says Anna McCool a zoo visitor.

If you missed Saturday's event, there are two more Winter Days left on February 9 and March 9.