[ Animals ] Zoos lay on icy treats to keep animals cool in heatwave

[-ShylOo]

                                                  

       Zoos across the UK have taken extra precautions to keep their animals cool amid the soaring temperatures, with some offering icy treats and others shutting their gates to the public.

                                                                                       After the Met Office issued the UK’s first red extreme heat warning for Monday and Tuesday,

                                                                           animal parks such as Chester Zoo have closed their doors for “the safety of our staff, visitors, animals and plants”.

    Meanwhile, several have introduced additional measures to keep animals cool – with Colchester Zoo in Essex offering its residents frozen bottles of water, ice enrichment, and sprinklers.

                                                        At Bristol Zoo, squirrel monkeys, kea parrots and red pandas were given ice lollies filled with vegetables, leaves or mealworms,

                                                                                                 while the seals tucked into frozen fish in ice blocks as they frolicked in their pool.

 

                                                                           A spokesman said: “Primates such as the gorillas and squirrel monkeys love an ice lolly, just like us.

                                                                “When the temperatures rise, zookeepers make sure that every animal has plenty of water and cooling treats.

                     They can choose to spend their time in their cool indoor dens, or under the cool shade of the trees in their outdoor paddock, or they can choose to sunbathe if they prefer.”

                       Chester Zoo said it will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, tweeting: “Due to the extreme heat forecast… we will be closed for the safety of our staff, visitors, animals and plants.”

                                                                     Dr Nick Davis, assistant curator of mammals, said the zoo’s animals are finding their own ways to keep cool in their habitats.

                                                                                  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/zoos-chester-zoo-animals-zsl-london-zoo-essex-b2125673.html

 

 

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Edited July 21, 2022 by -ShylOo