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Zoo Residents Get Help To Stay Cool

For we humans, staying cool when the temperatures inch toward 90 or above may involve something as simple as wearing lighter weight clothing. But for the animals at the Detroit Zoo with thick fur coats, extra care is needed.

Betsy Meister, Detroit Zoo Mammal Department Supervisor, said they make sure the animals stay cool and some receive blocks of ice with frozen treats

"We put things in their pool, put big piles of ice or set up sprinklers or misters for them," Meister said.

As a male otter chewed through a block of ice, she said there was more to the frozen treats - fish were frozen inside, a special treat for many zoo animals this hot Wednesday - something the polar bears absolutely love.

She said they watch all the animals carefully and the ones that they know might have a difficult time are given access to areas that are cool and they set up sprinklers and misters to  make sure they have plenty of water.

"Some of the animals we notice might be resting a lot more, and finding that shade," Meister said.

"The warthogs might have a mud wallow today where they can dig in the mud and get all dirty and stay cool," Meister said.

She also said they give anteaters special showers because of their dense, thick fur.

(Copyright 2010 by WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved.)

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