Summer temperatures reaching the upper 90s are being felt across the Tampa Bay area and the team at ZooTampa at Lowry Park is finding ways to keep its animals cool amid the surging heat.
The Zoo’s animal care professionals have added cooling activities to the animals’ daily behavioral-based enrichment program. As essential to the well-being of the Zoo’s residents as proper nutrition and veterinary care, enrichment stimulates each animal physically and mentally, yielding the opportunity to engage in species-appropriate behavior within a dynamic environment.
Throughout the year, guests can observe various species interacting with numerous enrichment items ranging from barrels and boxes to boomer balls and puzzle feeders. Sometimes enrichment encourages animals to traverse their habitats in new ways, perhaps exploring newly added logs or branches.
Food enrichment is always popular and is also a tool the Zoo’s care team uses to keep the animals cool during these sweltering summer months. From water playtime for orangutans to buckets of ice for the otters, the Zoo's Nutrition Center is constantly busy creating frozen treats and activities that provide ZooTampa's animals with welcome refreshment. Other summer enrichment items include sprinklers, pools, and mud wallows. Daytime access to air-conditioned night houses also ensures the animals have the option to chill out behind -the-scenes.
For more information, visit ZooTampa.org.
