Sleeping with ice blocks, bathing under sprinklers, and playing in pools – these are some of the ways giant pandas at Shenyang Forest Zoological Garden are keeping cool this summer. On August 3rd, a journalist visited the panda pavilion and saw the pandas enjoying a refreshing summer with various cooling measures.
Since their arrival in Shenyang in September 2017, the four giant pandas, Bingqing, Binghua, Pupu, and Fafa, are experiencing their seventh summer in the city.
Wang Yi, the director of the giant panda pavilion at Shenyang Forest Zoological Garden, explained that giant pandas prefer cool environments and are sensitive to heat. During high temperatures, the pandas are moved indoors, where air conditioning is set to a suitable temperature. Additionally, sprinklers are turned on intermittently to increase humidity, and ice blocks are provided to help them cool down.
Considering factors like temperature, wind, and the pandas’ conditions, they also get to exercise in the outdoor playground. Wang Yi humorously noted, “Giant pandas particularly enjoy playing in water during summer. They have a pool in the outdoor playground where they love to splash around, showing their ‘panda paw waves.'”
Compared to winter, giant pandas’ appetites decrease in the hot summer, and they sleep more. To help them cope with the summer heat, the keepers prepare summer herbal drinks made from Summer Chrysanthemum Granules, which have cooling effects. Fresh bamboo shoots, leaves, and stalks are airlifted to maintain their diet and ensure they remain in good health.
August is the birthday month for all four pandas. The keepers plan to celebrate by preparing refreshing ice cakes for them.
Other animals in the zoo also enjoy special treatments to beat the heat. For instance, rhinos have mud pits to roll in, which helps prevent mosquito bites and acts as a natural sunscreen. Elephants and ring-tailed lemurs are given water-rich fruits like watermelons to keep them hydrated and cool.