PHILADELPHIA — Humans aren’t the only ones feeling the heat.
As temperatures inched closer to 100 degrees on Thursday, primates at the Philadelphia Zoo enjoyed some icy, fruit-and-veggie flavored popsicles. Elsewhere in the zoo, giant river otters might be found munching on a fish pop — a block of ice with fish in it — while big cats could be snacking on a “bloodsicle,” or frozen blood, said Michael Stern, the zoo’s curator of primates and small mammals.
These icy treats are one way that animals at the Philadelphia Zoo are keeping cool during this heatwave, which has prompted the city to declare its first “heat health emergency” of the season and is only expected to get worse this weekend. Zookeepers are also distributing ice bottles for animals to rest on, watching animals more closely for signs of heat stress, and making sure pigs and rhinos have ample mud in which to wallow, Stern said.
