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EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- The drought in Texas and several other southern states has created a hay shortage.

So, local farmers that used to sell hay for $6-7 a bale, are now getting $15 for it.

At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo 60-70 percent of their animals use hay for bedding and food.  But a lack of hay is driving up the price.

"The hay that we do get, some of it has gone up close to a $100 a ton, which doesn't sound like a lot," Tracy Thessing, Director of Animal Collections at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, said.  "But when you consider we buy 200 tons of hay a year, it can have quite the impact. Year to date the zoo is $6,000 over its hay budget."

So Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is trying to cut costs in other departments and hold off on purchases that aren't necessary right now.

But skimping on the animals isn't an option.

The zoo won't change the type of hay they use, consistency is key, and a change to their diet could create digestive issues.

"The people from Texas are migrating north, and they're buying up all the hay up I-25, going to all the ranches trying to feed their livestock," John Koller, Big R Manager, said.

The folks over at Big R in Widefield have been out of hay for the past three weeks.

They expect to have another shipment in the next three days, but after that they've got to go searching for it.

"Getting in touch with those people and finding out where the hay is, and that's across the whole U.S.," Koller said.