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Blood-flavored ice helps zoo animals beat Rio’s warmth


Rio de Janeiro’s brutal summer time warmth has reached 122 levels Fahrenheit on some latest days, sending locals to chill off within the ocean. There weren’t many choices for residents of the town’s zoo, nonetheless, till a group of specialists began providing them unique frozen treats.

The flavors of ice given to the zoo’s carnivores aren’t discovered at your common summer time hotspot: Chicken, minced meat and bovine blood. But 14-year-old lion Simba and the 3-year-old black jaguar Poty lap it up.

“This is a part of our well-being program. We have lots of activities to include something different in their routine,” mentioned Marina Moraes, a biologist on the zoo.

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In this picture taken by way of a glass window, a black jaguar licks ice treats on the metropolis zoo in Rio Janeiro, Brazil, on Jan. 27, 2023.
(AP Pho to/Silvia Izquierdo)

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The ice brings cooling aid to the animals, which take their time consuming it, and the feeding ritual is a novel sight for guests. That was the case for an Argentine household that got here to the zoo for the primary time.

“It’s fantastic because there’s this terrible heat and above all it’s very humid. We sweat even though there’s no sun; it’s different from Argentina,” mentioned lawyer Lorena López, who was together with her husband and youngsters. “I think it’s perfect for the animals to have their ice.”

Many of the kids appeared fascinated by the exercise, they usually expressed shock after they came upon the substances of the completely different flavors, which range in keeping with the species.

“For the primates, we offer fruit ice creams, which are sweet and more colorful,” Moraes mentioned. “The herbivores can taste kale, pumpkin and carrot.”

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