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Instinct and ice keep zoo animals cool

Chulita, 6, a llama at the Indianapolis Zoo leans over to drink as Zoo employee Amanda Keene, 25, hoses her down. The llama's coat insulates her but employees need to hose the animal's belly and legs to keep her cool. - ALDRICH TAN / For The Star By Aldrich M. Tan
aldrich.tan@indystar.com

3:37 PM July 31, 2006

Tundra the polar bear coped with today's 90-plus temperatures as best she could.

She dipped her furry white paws into cooled water while tossing a bucket-sized ice cube in her exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo.
The polar bears held up well today, and their human visitors did as best they could on the hottest day of the year so far.

The zoo offered free ice water to guests, but attendance was still down by about half, compared with an average day.

“This is a dangerous kind of heat where there is no relief for animals and humans,” Zoo spokeswoman Judy Gagen said.

Zookeepers put extra ice into the polar bear exhibit. And some of the food for the animals was frozen so that they could cool off while they ate.

Some animals easily adapted to the heat, Gagen said. The African elephants have their own internal air conditioning - flapping their large ears to cool down the blood vessels inside.

But other critters needed special help. The rusty red pandas can’t swim. A hose tied to the panda’s tree provided mist while the pandas napped on the branches.

The least exotic animals require some of the greatest care.

The zoo’s domesticated animals, including pigs, horses and ponies are getting more baths than usual, said Jackie Curtis, Encounter Area supervisor.

“We’ve cancelled several animal walkalongs today,” Curtis said.

When they are on display, the animals throughout the zoo lounge around because it is too hot to move. Ahkiok, an 18-year-old Kodiak bear, basks in a small pool at the exhibit. His brother Chugach, naps in the shade.

“The animals are smart,” Gagen said. “They take it easy when it’s too hot, which is what the humans watching them should also do.”

The humans themselves have to be careful. To make sure the visitors stay healthy the zoo is offering free cups of ice-cold water at its snack bars and restaurants. Zoo attendance today was about 2,000 guests - half the daily average of 4,000, Gagen said.

Patricia Barker, a stay-at-home mom from the Westside, watched as her daughter Kimáya, 3, danced in the jets of water shooting up from the ground in the Enchanted Mill play area.

Barker said the heat wasn’t going to stop her family’s trip to the zoo. She packed sunblock, sunglasses and a full gallon of water.

“I didn’t want my children to sit around and be lazy at home,” Barker said.

Alec Julian, 6, Lebanon, was soaked from his visit to the Enchanted Mill. Wearing a fresh change of clothes, Alec shared a frozen Minute Maid lemonade with his mom, April.

“It was the best $3 that we spent today,” she said.