Giant ice cubes, cool showers, and frozen feasts - how we're beating the heat!

With the mercury set to hit a sultry 27 degrees today at the Sussex attraction, Drusillas Zookeepers have been pulling out all the stops to make the animals comfortable in the heat. Ensuring they have access to plenty of water, offering refreshing showers, serving up a range of tasty frozen treats, and even creating giant ice cubes to help residents keep cool.

During hot weather, it’s important for zoos across the country to make sure their animals thrive in the heat. One way to do this is by providing additional water sources, such as sprinklers for the animals to bathe in - something resident giant anteater Raya particularly enjoys. Keepers also hose down some of the animal habitats to lower the temperature and offer them plenty of frozen treats alongside their usual food, to ensure they stay relaxed and happy.

While the animals at the zoo can’t enjoy the sort of ice lollies we love to cool off with, their icy goodies are no less exciting. Keepers like to get creative by making food-layered ice lollies stacked with delicious ingredients including tasty vegetables, crunchy seeds, and delicious fresh herbs.

The Park’s yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys enjoyed huge frozen discs containing colourful snacks such as cucumber, sweetcorn, red cabbage and herbs. They took tentative licks of the icy treats before having a fabulous time smashing the discs on the floor to get to the goodies hidden inside.

A special catnip-infused ice block was also delivered to the lynx habitat, which brothers Ash and Friston thought was purr-fectly delicious, sniffing and licking the herb-filled ice block to beat the heat.

Elsewhere in the zoo, Sholo the lar gibbon tucked into frozen squash and fennel, two of his favourite treats which had been placed in the freezer to help him stay cool on such a sunny day and enjoyed a taste of a lemon and ginger ice pop which keepers had made for him.

Zoo Section Leader, Jacinta Dawe commented: “We use ice lollies and frozen treats to keep the animals cool in the heat because animals do not sweat in the same way humans do. The animals just want to get their paws on the rewards hidden in the ice, but as they grab, lick, nibble and break them down, their mouths and paws are cooled. The food inside is carefully measured and taken from their normal daily food allowance so although it’s lots of fun to see them with ice lollies, they still sit within their monitored diets.”

Meanwhile, the zoo’s penguin gang weren’t left out of the action either. Humboldt penguins are native to Chile, so they are naturally adapted to warmer temperatures, but they still appreciated the addition of two huge ice cubes floating around their pool. The playful penguins plunged in and out of the water, chasing and bobbing the ice around for fun.

Keepers have also devised an ingenious way to keep their nest boxes cool on hotter days by placing plastic bottles filled with ice inside the nest boxes, attached to bungee cords. The penguins can rub themselves against the bottles if they want to cool off, while the ice helps lower the overall temperature inside the boxes – a trick we might all be trying this evening to get some sleep!

Jacinta continued, “Some species, for example our giant anteater Raya, like to actively bathe to cool off. So, we create her very own shower for her in warm weather, which she absolutely loves! We treated her to this today and she was thrilled, stretching out and grooming her impressive tail in the refreshing shower to show her appreciation! Bathing is also great for her skin and coat, and a fun enrichment activity, so it’s a fantastic experience for her all round. You’ll also spot our capybaras and otters taking a long dip in their pools, and the flamingos have been combating the heat by walking around their waterfall.”

The zoo’s resident binturong family certainly didn’t want to miss out on the heatwave fun either. They were treated to their very own icy enrichment treat, which proved a huge hit with the whole gang. Curious baby twins Sabang and Bunga could be seen taking sneaky peeks at the frozen surprise, while energetic big sister Boots raced climbed on top of the ice block and played excitedly with it.

“Ice lollies are a great way to keep the animals cool,” Jacinta continued. “But they also serve an enrichment purpose as well. Making the animals work for their food in creative ways helps to stimulate them mentally and physically and encourages them to use their instincts to look for food as they would in the wild.”

For human visitors it’s easy to keep cool at the Park’s popular splash pad, open every day until the end of September. There’s also plenty of shady spots and icy refreshments to make sure the whole family can stay cool.