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Snow In The Sun: SRP, Phoenix Zoo Gives Animals Cool Treats As Temperatures Rise In The Valley
The Phoenix Zoo and SRP hosted their annual Snow Day for animals to help them cool off as temperatures rise in the Valley. Some of the animals who received the treats included African lions, meerkats, Bornean orangutans, African vultures and more.
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Meerkats enjoy frozen treats at the Phoenix Zoo.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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Meerkats enjoy frozen treats at the Phoenix Zoo.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
Wendi Lyle, an engagement volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo, says it's a great way to give the animals enrichment.
"They do that all the time here, so this is just something extra special for them since it's so hot out," Lyle said.
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Chutti, a greater one-horned rhino, eats the carrot nose off of a snowman.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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Chutti, a greater one-horned rhino, eating a frozen treat.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
Chelsea Grubb, a behavioral enrichment and animal wellbeing coordinator, says, since snow is an anomaly in Phoenix, it's a unique way to provide enrichment for the animals.
"Enrichment is basically ways we can encourage the animals to, or give them opportunities, to display species-specific or species-appropriate behaviors. That's the whole point of enrichment," Grubb said.
"We want the animals to behave as they would in their natural habitat, so we have to create opportunities for that. Within those opportunities are, you know, means to explore new novel things, new novel environmental things, foods, social scenarios, etc."
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A giraffe stands in front of a snow man at the Phoenix Zoo.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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African painted dogs run around their frozen treats at the Phoenix Zoo.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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Cheetahs at the Phoenix Zoo investigate their snow treats.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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African vultures eat a frozen pig at the Phoenix Zoo.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
Depending on the species, the ice blocks might contain fruits, vegetables and meats. Grubb says designing the treats depends on how each animal is built.
"We look at their national history, and we say, 'OK, so how do they consume their food?' If it's a lion, what would they find reinforcing? Probably blood. Blood is pretty tasty for a lion," Grubb said.
"So, we'll take some animal blood from them, from their leftover meats. It's kind of dripping from their meat diet, and we freeze it into blocks and they just will lick it for hours."
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
A zoo employee prepares an ice block for the Bornean orangutans, with the words "SRP" frozen out of watermellon rind.Grubb says it also depends on how each animal consumes their food.
"Other animals really enjoy whole pieces of food, like the primates, so we will freeze whole pieces of food into ice blocks, and they have to kind of either use an implement to get that out or they have to just sort of wait until it melts or they'll slam the block of ice. They'll slam the block of ice to get the treats out," Grubb says.
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A Bornean orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo smashing an ice treat over a rock to get the frozen fruit inside.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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A Bornean orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo smashing an ice treat over a rock to get the frozen fruit inside.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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A Bornean orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo smashing an ice treat over a rock to get the frozen fruit inside.
Kiersten Edgett/KJZZ
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