Barcelona Zoo activates animal welfare protocol in face of extreme heat

Barcelona Zoo has activated a special protocol to minimize the impact of the summer's high temperatures. 

The protocols guarantee the well-being of the animals at the zoo. 

These protocols include adapting hydration, feeding, ventilation and bathing spaces to match the needs of each species during episodes of intense heat. 

The implementation of these protocols involves more frequent replenishment of drinking bowls, as well as sprays and showers in the animals' enclosures, ensuring the animals always have fresh water. 

For animals like warthogs and turtles, their thermal regulation is done in bathing areas and mudflats, so the zoo has intensified cleaning and is replenishing these areas with fresh water more frequently.

Animals like the red panther and elephants use showers or sprays with hoses and sprinklers to cool themselves. 

In some enclosures, mechanisms have been applied to facilitate air renewal and improve indoor air conditioning. 

The heat protocols also offer refreshing foods and specific diets that promote hydration. 

Examples of these include frozen fruit and broth or fruit juice ice pops for primates, ice blocks with fruits for the giraffes and fish for sea lions. 

The zoo itself is surrounded by vegetation, allowing the temperature inside the enclosure to be up to three degrees lower than Barcelona's average temperatures.