When it gets too warm in the midday heat, even in the shade, the only thing that helps is a dip in the cool water.

It's just after 1 p.m. on Monday, the sun is at its zenith, when the spectacled bear in Frankfurt Zoo gets too warm under a tree.

The shaggy animal pulls itself up out of the shadows, then pads somewhat lazily into the freshly filled pool of water and enjoys staying in the coolest part of its enclosure.

David Lindenfeld

volunteer.

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Immediately in front of a pane, the bear from the Andes scratches its back on the stone, writhing around in the water again and again.

"Oh look!

There's a bear," a visitor calls out to her friend: "Oh God, how cute." The couple have just arrived and are visibly happy that they are offered something at the first enclosure right at the beginning of their visit to the zoo.

Because those who visit the zoo in the midday heat these days are not always lucky enough to see all the animals in action.

Many stay in the cooler interior of their enclosure when the temperatures are high, lie in the shade or make themselves comfortable in the pool like the hippo Petra.

“In summer, a visit in the morning hours is particularly recommended.

That's great," says a visitor who has a season ticket and is pushing his son in front of him in a pram.

The same applies to many animals as to humans: the heat is a major burden.

"They have to get used to it and adapt," says Frankfurt zoo director Christina Geiger.

Especially when temperatures of up to 38 degrees are announced for this Tuesday in Frankfurt.

The zoo tries to make the stay more bearable for the animals.

Ice bombs are particularly popular

In the course of evolution, two different concepts have prevailed: There are endothermic organisms (equally warm) in which the body temperature is always at a constant level.

This genus includes mammals or birds.

Exothermic organisms regulate their body temperature using sunlight.

These include reptiles in particular.

They need warmth to be able to move at all.

"Some of them are particularly active now," explains Geiger.

Camels and meerkats have fewer problems with the hot temperatures in Frankfurt.

They come from warmer regions and are therefore well prepared for the coming days.

The camels, like the zebras or the bongo antelopes, all stay in the shade.

The meerkats are drawn into the burrows when it gets too warm.

Not much has changed for the lion Kiron either, who has settled in the shade in a corner at the end of his enclosure: "The lions already have many rest periods during the day anyway," says Geiger.

"They look for a shady spot and just sleep a little longer."

Especially popular with animals – and with visitors – are ice bombs, i.e. ice blocks made of food frozen in buckets, almost oversized water ice.

Penguins, seals or bears get them from the keepers.

There are also ice bombs at Hanover Zoo for the polar bears.

There they are called ice cream cakes.

Earth as sun protection

The two polar bears there are used to the temperatures, says an employee on the phone: "The male Sprinter is actually a real sun worshiper." to go into the water.” Sprinter might be the exception among the polar bears.

The cool water in Hanover is more popular with the elephants.

They use their trunk as a snorkel and sometimes stay under water for several minutes.

“There is also a lot of splashing around.

It's a huge pool party." The animals are often smarter than the people who sit in the sun in such a hot weather: "The animals calm down, are much more relaxed and less active," says the Hanover Zoo employee .

The Frankfurt Zoo had to come up with something for other animal species.

Four awnings have been installed over the seal enclosure.

If the animals get too warm in the wild, they simply dive deeper.

You can't do that in the zoo.

If there is no water in the enclosure but you need to cool down, you can use the lawn sprinkler, the garden hose or a specially constructed tub to take care of it.

It is important to always find the right balance, since the zoo also wants to save water, says director Geiger.

Mud baths are also essential for many animals.

The red river hogs, which have been back at Frankfurt Zoo for a few weeks, wallow in the mud around noon on Monday.

The damp earth is significantly cooler than the sandy soil on which the bongos stand.

And it sticks to the skin of some animals – as sun protection.