A big part of animal care during winters in upstate New York, where temperatures can grow frigid, involves keep our furry friends warm and safe. Now, imagine if you will, caring for hundreds of exotic animals, from giraffes and rhinos to tigers and camels, during winter months.

Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, Broome County, is living proof that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.

He looks after hundreds of animals from all over the world, a job that truly never stops, especially when you never know what the weather might bring.

"When the animals are in the preserve, they are free range, truly. They're roaming on over 100 acres, and when we bring them in for the winter, we have our very large heated box stalls that they're in, and it's just more or less, it's climate-controlled and we remove the variables,” said Patch.

While the park and preserve might be blanketed with snow, animals like Tajiri the giraffe were enjoying the indoors. Patch and his team worked to build a 30,000-square-foot barn, keeping their animals safe during the winter. They're powered by multiple generators, ensuring even the worst winter storm won't cause any interruptions.

“The rest of the preserve barn is relatively lower ceilings. In this side of it, we're at about 20 some odd feet tall for the ceiling. It has to be able to accommodate full-grown giraffes that are reaching 18 to 20 feet tall. Tajiri, standing next to me just passed a milestone. He is now 15 feet, two inches tall," said Patch.

From giraffes to rhinos, the care is ever-changing. It’s a year-round job, not just for Patch, but the dozens of keepers from all over the country. Unlike a zoo, Animal Adventure Park typically gets no county or city funding, meaning even when it’s closed, the bills continue.

“Every decision that we make, and especially myself in the admin offices, is 'how do we become more efficient, how do we become more cost effective, how do we do things in the best interests of our animals without compromising the budgets that we're limited on?' So for me, it's a very big game of balance between the needs and the available, and finding the perfect medium between the two," said Patch.

But housing the animals isn’t enough. They, too, need something to keep them entertained.

Tank the Rhino enjoys a bit of painting, a project many of the animals have now taken up.

It’s all about spreading the word of conservation year-round.

"While the animals' care might change in the winter in colder months, our mission continues and that's our mission of conservation. So by providing off-season encounters and continuing our messaging on social media platforms and doing stories like this, we're able to still have our animals serve as ambassadors for their species,” said Patch.

Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville opens in April.