We are not the only ones to suffer from the heat and the heat wave which last. The animals also need to cool off, those of the Peaugres Safari (Ardèche) in particular. The park welcomes 1,200 animals of 136 different species, and everything is good to face the heat: ice, shower or mud bath.
– Safari of Peaugres
Four times a day, Line, assistant animal manager, offers the elephants a shower, to cool off, to drink, but also to moisten the ground and allow the animals to cover themselves with mud. It is one of the techniques used by pachyderms to protect themselves from the sun.
– Safari of Peaugres
To refresh the lemurs, the zoo provides them with fruit ice cream. It is actually mixed fruit and pieces of fruit trapped in frozen water. “It’s a way of forcing them to drink, explains Valentin, assistant animal manager. It’s not the ice cream that will necessarily interest them, but rather the fruit that is in it.” A similar recipe (based on meat or fish) is offered to carnivores and sea lions.
– Guillaume Farriol
– Guillaume Farriol
– Safari of Peaugres
Many species benefit from a water point in their enclosure, to drink of course but also to bathe. This is the case of tigers, otters, hyenas, snow leopards, scarlet ibises or even tapirs and anteaters. Animals can also benefit from the shade in each park, thanks to artificial shelters or trees.
– Guillaume Farriol
For visitors, the animal park inaugurated its “Safari Splash” in 2020 to refresh the public. Foggers are also scattered throughout the zoo, as are drinking water points.