Barcelona Zoo enhances animals' comfort due to hotter temperatures

With highs of over 30ºC, Barcelona Zoo is freshening up its animals to keep them comfortable due to hotter temperatures. Among many of the initiatives from the heat protocol in place are mixing frozen fruit with ice cubes, constant showers, and plenty of shade.

The heat protocol has been reactivated after July's lower temperatures and rainy days, but it was previously implemented back in June when all-time high temperatures were registered.

Site management explains that the protocol is "always enforced when the temperature surpasses 30 degrees," as zoo director Antoni Alarcón told media outlets on Tuesday during a visit to the zoo.

Animals at Barcelona Zoo are facing warm temperatures, although officials state they are all species ready for the task, and that the installations are prepared to cope with extreme temperatures both in summer and in winter.

Alarcón said that "all installations are prepared for the current climate emergency and all species can comfortably live with our climate conditions."

The site is home to over 2,000 animals from 300 species, such as lions, tigers, brown bears, and even penguins. Each summer, the zoo prepares several ways to keep the animals fresh. Aside from the ice cubes and frozen fruit, the site management also regularly changes the water from the ponds to make them colder, improves air ventilation, or gives animals ice cream.

"Ice cream, regardless if it is a primate with fruit, banded mongooses with worms' ice cream, or even frozen soups, forces the animal to continue licking and eat slowly, which helps them to be more hydrated," Alarcón explained.

He believes that "we will have more extreme climate episodes, more floods, and longer drought periods," which is why, aside from freshening up animals, the zoo also wants visitors to feel comfortable and to have a "more pleasant" experience. The zoo, because of its location, in the Parc de la Ciutadella park surrounded by trees and shade, registers temperatures around 3ºC lower than on the city's streets.

"We have some water sprayers around to make the visit a little bit more comfortable, and these are some of the elements we will continue to implement," Alarcón said.

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode published in November 2021 to learn about the zoo's research.