AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Zoo said it was hit hard by the recent ice storm with the number of trees and limbs down being worse than it has ever seen.

“We have taken great efforts to remove all dangerous limbs that could potentially be in the path of people and animals, but the clean up is immense,” the zoo said.

Officials said the zoo remains open to visitors, and it has cleared safe pathways throughout but anticipated it could take months to clean up the debris.

“As people visit they will notice large piles of limbs throughout the zoo that we will continue to remove,” the zoo said. “Several of the habitats also have limbs down that we will continue to remove. There are so many we are looking most likely at months of clean up.”

In recent weeks, some Texas zoos have had issues with property damage and theft of animals from zoo habitats.

Zoo officials said the safety of the animals was their top priority.

“The incidences at the Dallas Zoo are very concerning to us.  While we already had several safety measures in place, we have taken some steps for added security already and will be taking even more steps in the coming months,” the zoo said.