See how zoo animals are cooling off during summer heat with sprinklers, frozen treats
Whether they’re splashing in the water or munching on frozen treats, zoo animals are finding ways to stay cool this summer.
At the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, an “irresistibly floaty log” made pool time playful for an Andean bear named Oja, according to video posted to Facebook last week. Footage shows the animal flailing its front legs as it tried to grip the log toy.
Zookeepers say the bears are “great swimmers and can be seen cooling off in the pool during warm summer days.”
Time in the water was more relaxing for Jiwa, an orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo. Video posted on Facebook last month shows the animal wading in a tub around the time temperatures reached 100 degrees at the zoo, data show.
To help some of its animals cool down, the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans turned to a sprinkling water hose and frozen treats, NOLA.com reported last week. Pictures from the news outlet show a bear and cougar licking their cold snacks.
It was a similar scene at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, where cameras captured animals getting relief from the heat. Temperatures at the zoo had been in the 90s, above normal for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
“Animal care staff provided Kartik and Hani sloth bears with fruit frozen inside ice blocks,” the zoo wrote Thursday on Facebook. “African lions Brutus and Titus and the African painted dogs received beef bones frozen in ice. And, the reindeer cooled off under misters installed in their habitat.”
Ice also helped animals stay cool at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, KOAA reported Thursday. For American river otters, which are adapted to cold water, zookeepers filled a kiddie pool with ice and “fishy treats.”
Forecasters predicted hotter temperatures than normal for July, and “excessive heat” is possible for some parts of the country into next week, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said Wednesday.
Photos and videos of animals beating the heat emerged as concerns about the coronavirus prompted the Phoenix Zoo and other wildlife facilities to close their doors to visitors. Some shuttered zoos and aquariums have let animals roam their grounds since the start of the pandemic, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 9:58 AM with the headline "See how zoo animals are cooling off during summer heat with sprinklers, frozen treats."
