How BREC’s Zoo animals stay cool in summer heat
BATON ROUGE – If you’re struggling in this heat, imagine being covered in fur (or hair, or feathers)!
Luckily the animals at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo have a team of keepers cooling them off.
“When we experience higher temperatures, which is usually about 95 or greater, we will give the animals free access to their den areas or their indoor housing. We make sure to have additional fans, misters. Animals have access to pools can have them indoors or outdoors, and then periodically the keepers will go around and they’ll do interesting little things like ice treats,” primate and carnivore curator Paige Marshall said.
On Wednesday, Marshall gave out special frozen strawberry treats for the Siamangs–monkeys native to Southeast Asia.
“Just anything we can do to make them more comfortable.”
The pygmy hippos stay cool in their pool, which happens to be a new exhibit this year. The good news, like most of us, the species here can handle Louisiana summers.
“We try really hard here at the Baton Rouge Zoo to make sure that the animals we have on display and in our collection are animals that are well suited to the climate we’re in.”
The Zoo is open from 9:30 to 5 every day, and admission is only $1.50 on Wednesdays.
