Ice cakes help Philadelphia Zoo animals keep cool in the heat
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With high heat gripping the Philadelphia region for the next few days, some animals at the Philadelphia Zoo are getting some cold treats to help stay cool.
The Zoo shared these photos with us showing multiple animals staying cool with ice cakes like this red panda, 9-year-old Khumbie, here.
There will also be mud baths and water misters for the warm-blooded species to soak and cool down.
The Zoo gave its otters ice cakes filled with fish to celebrate World Otter Day in May.
Giant river otters enjoy GIANT ice cake for #WorldOtterDay🦦 !How do we celebrate #WorldOtterDay? 🦦 With a gigantic, colorful ice cake filled with fish for our giant river otter family to enjoy! 🎂 As you can see, they toss it into the water to try and quickly melt the ice to get to the smelt, catfish and bluefish inside. Giant river otters catch prey with their mouths and hold it with their paws while eating.
Posted by Philadelphia Zoo on Wednesday, May 31, 2023
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The heat is not bad news for all the animals at the zoo: cold-blooded birds and reptiles like tortoises and snakes really like the hot weather and will be out sunbathing. The big cats like lions and tigers are OK with the heat too.
"They'll have access to nice air conditioned spaces, while some of our animals like our savannah animals will just be outside," curator Maggie Morse said.
There's an air conditioned space within the emu and kangaroo exhibit too.
By the way - if it's too hot for some of the zoo animals, it's probably too hot for your pets. Keep your pets inside as much as possible during this heat, and if they have to go out for a length of time, be sure they have access to water and shade.
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