Updated

Pelicans living in captivity don't have to migrate thousands miles south every autumn to escape the winter cold in the northern hemisphere, but at the Liberec zoo in northern Czech Republic, they still need a helping hand to find their way to a heated inside enclosure.

With temperatures dropping by the day, a dozen keepers were busy catching the zoo's 20 pelicans on Monday. Some were chasing them in kayaks and boats on a pond in efforts to move them to a warmer place inside in the zoo.

To avoid injuring the birds, they handled them only with their bare hands. All the birds were unharmed in the move, while one keeper suffered a scratch to her face.

Once the winter is over, the birds will be returned to their open-air enclosure.