Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Zookeepers at Taipei Zoo have launched an ice-making project to keep their animals cool in the sultry hot summer weather, with daytime temperatures regularly exceeding 36 degrees Celsius since early July.
Taipei Zoo spokesman Tsao Hsien-shao said the heat has caused the animals kept outdoors to lose their appetites. In view of this, they have changed the kitchen into an "ice factory" and have started to serve the animals their food embedded in ice.
Every Wednesday, the zookeepers produce 33 buckets of fruit ice, 112 cups of fruit ice, two buckets of blood ice, one bucket of ground meat ice, and two buckets of willow leaf fish ice to meet the needs of their charges.
Tsao also described how the animals behave when the ice food is served. Gorillas tend to hug the giant ice cube and take it to their secret places to enjoy. Chimpanzees make a circle to share with the others. Black bears tend to eat it alone, while the Eurasian otters play with the floating ice until it melts, releasing the willow leaf fish.
The Formosan macaques, due to their social hierarchy, do not sit in a circle like the chimpanzees to share their desserts, so zookeepers decided to serve their ice in separate cups.
Taipei Zoo said that the ice food not only cools the animals down, but also gives them something to do.
