Ice lollies keeping exotic animals at Longleat chilled during heatwave
Keepers have come up with some unique flavours!
Last updated 18th Jul 2022
Keepers at Longleat Safari Park have come up with some unique ice lolly flavour combinations to keep some of the exotic animals there chilled out during the current heatwave.
A particular favourite among the Wiltshire wildlife attraction’s herd of Rothschild’s giraffe is banana, carrot and willow ice blocks, which are suspended on a chain over five metres above the ground.
Ian Turner says they're going down a treat;
“The lollies are proving to be extremely popular with the animals; we tend to use ingredients we know they love already and then just freeze them overnight.”
"The giraffes lapped up the willow leaves. It is a bit of an operation to hoist them up to the right height, but it was definitely worth the effort.”
The Rothschild’s giraffe has been officially designated as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which means it may be threatened with extinction in the near future.
The Safari Park’s resident troupe of rhesus macaque monkeys are also enjoying cooling treats in the shape of monkey seed ice lollies.
Highly sociable they live in family troops of 20 or more led by a dominant male. Food is gathered as a group - one monkey acting as ‘look-out’ for danger, while the others fill their cheek pouches with as much food as they can.