Refreshing treats help zoo animals keep cool during summer

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By CGTN's Hu Chao

China's summer heatwave has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in many cities across the country. The scorching weather can be extremely uncomfortable for zoo animals, but Chinese zoo keepers have taken creative measures to help their animals stay cool.

A monkey swims in the pool. /CGTN Photo

Keepers at the Taiyuan Zoo in the capital of north China’s Shanxi Province have built a swimming pool for their monkeys. Instead of just swimming, some of the primates apparently like to dive into the water from nearby trees.

Zoo keepers provide lots of watermelon to the animals. /CGTN Photo

Zookeepers are also feeding the animals frozen watermelon and ice cubes.

A monkey eats an ice cube after several dives in the water. /CGTN Photo

The zoo's rhinoceroses also got an extra special summer treat: cold showers and cooling mud baths. A mud bank was recently built for the animals to roll around in during hot summer days.

Mud baths also help rhinoceroses to get rid of parasites. /CGTN Photo

To escape the heat, the zoo's bears have also been getting wet, swimming around in their very own pool.

Staying in the pool is one of the best ways to escape the heat. /CGTN Photo

The head of the Taiyuan Zoo's public relations team, Huang Xiaoning, said the animals are being fed a special diet with plenty of fruits, and their cages are often sprinkled with water to keep temperatures down

The zoo even brought some of the most sensitive animals inside to stay in air-conditioned rooms.

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