Animals and humans alike work hard to beat the heat at Como Zoo
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Thermometers cracked 90 degrees for a second day in a row in St. Paul, making for a memorable Tuesday at Como Zoo.
Staff made some weather adjustments. Arctic-bred polar bears encountered a different kind of ice, and found a new way to keep their chill as zoo keepers dumped buckets of ice for them to play with.
The bison found their chill indoors, as zoo keepers let many of the animals into air-conditioned barns. They also gave sea lions fishcicles, and ostriches got sprinkled with some extra love, too, as zoo keepers are on high heat alert.
"I think it's the same thing for people as it is for animals. It's just animals are larger and can overheat quicker," said Allison Jungheim, Como Zoo's head zookeeper. "Sometimes if an animal gets too warm, if they've overexerted themselves, you'll see them kind of looking a little lethargic, they'll get droopy, you know, kind of like humans when we get too hot, too."
The animals may not be able to verbalize their discomfort, but the humans sure did.
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"Kinda like a microwave, like you're inside a microwave, I feel like that's how hot a microwave would be," said Claire Webber of St. Peter
But just like the lions, the people found shade. And on a day like this, the goal is to make sure all creatures find comfort.
Jungheim says the polar bears are the most uncomfortable with the heat. and the lions and orangutans absolutely love it.
