The lucky chimps at England’s Whipsnade Zoo got too cool off with a human-style summer treat—homemade fresh-fruit popsicles of a sort.
The chimps didn’t exactly get popsicles—that’s not on their approved diet. Instead, senior zookeeper Jane Storr mixed up a blend of fruit juice, bananas, and water and froze it solid.
When the temperatures started to climb too high, she passed out the frozen treats to her simian friends.
Storr mixed banana and fruit juice with some water.
She froze the mixture and handed it out to her simian friends.
“It’s got two purposes really,” Storr explained. “We’re trying to cool them down a little bit on a blistering hot day like today and we’re trying to give them their food in a more interesting way, trying to give them a bit of stimulation with their diet as well.”
The chimps were quite obviously very appreciative.
The weather has been unusually warm for England. Temperatures his 84 F degrees on Tuesday, June 20. Wednesday was expected to be even hotter at 89 degrees.
Storr explained that the chimps couldn’t be cooled down with a pond or pool.
Chimps in the wild avoid water. Streams are used as territorial boundaries. Crossing could have dire consequences. This complicates the task of keeping the animals comfortable during the height of summer.
The chimps at Whipsnade seemed quite happy cooling off with their special frozen treats.
