Pine Grove Zoo’s Cool Tricks For Animals In Hot Weather

LITTLE FALLS (WJON News) -- With temperatures expected to be in the 80s and 90s all week, everyone is looking for ways to keep cool. Zoos are no exception when the heat climbs, trying to keep all the animals cool.

Porcupines enjoy veggie-filled icicle treats.

Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls has a number of creative ways to help all their animals deal with the heat. Director Marnita Van Hoecke says sprinklers and pools are used a lot, and ice is a big tool as well:

"When we talk ice, some of it is just our ice like we would put in our own glasses, but some of it we will actually fill up, halfway up, a five-gallon pail full, put it in our big freezer and then they have that all day. They play with it and try to chew on it, but it just keeps them a little bit cooler."

She says they also use some ice treats like special popsicles for many of the animals, and their hoofed animals like zebras and buffalo have ponds. The smaller animals have air-conditioned enclosures they can retreat into to stay cool as well.

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The carnivores enjoy frozen meat treats in addition to their ice.

Van Hoecke says one of the Monkeys even likes to share his ice with visitors:

"The ice that we give them is too big to get through their fencing, and he'll hold it long enough so it gets small enough and then tries to throw it at our visitors. He thinks that's the greatest thing in the whole world, and so they're always busy with the ice as well."

Van Hoecke says, like people, the animals won't be as active in the heat, so the best time to visit for both the animals and people is in the morning when it is cooler.

The zoo has a misting station for people to use to stay cool as well. Van Hoecke says their top priority is safety for both the animals and visitors.