Dehydrated Rio zoo animals get cold food to cool off in Brazil’s sweltering summer heat

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Rio de Janeiro’s zoo is feeding bears, jaguars, wolves and monkeys as Brazil swells.

Cold is part of the animal’s life cycle, providing thermal comfort. Some also have access to water tanks or air-conditioning to cool off.

They are not the only animals that are puffy. Temperatures in Brazil have shot above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days, sending locals into the sea for a refreshing dip or to street vendors selling frozen treats.

At Rio’s BioParque Zoo, others have a different choice.

“For carnivores, their favorite taste is blood,” said Letícia Feitosa, a 30-year-old biologist. Herbivores are offered fruit or vegetable flavored frozen snacks, he added.

Visitors watch as Poty, a 5-year-old black jaguar, finishes playing in the freshwater pool.

Erminda da Conceição Guerreiro Couto, a professor of biology at the university who visited the zoo, said that the distribution of ice pops is part of preventing high temperatures from affecting the animals’ living conditions.

“They get very tired. They lost their enthusiasm. They are used to being very quiet,” said Guerreiro Couto. “As (the sweet) melts, they lick it off. More than meat, they have youth.”

High temperatures in southeastern Brazil are expected to drop from Thursday, according to the National Institute of Meteorology, and Rio’s city hall said rain will begin Wednesday afternoon.