How a Manhattan zoo helps animals handle the heat

MANHATTAN, K.S. (KSNT) - When temperatures outside get high, keeping animals cool is extremely important. Even though some animals, both big and small, are used to being in warmer climates, they still need to cool off sometimes.

This is why the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan works to keep its animals both accessible to the public and safe from the heat during the summer.

"They have indoor and outdoor environments where they can retreat to, Melissa Kirkwood, Sunset Zoo's Marketing and Development Coordinator said. "So they have bedrooms where some of them have air conditioning and some of them are at least fan-cooled, but most of them are temperature-controlled according to their life."

It's all about keeping them in the right environment with the right resources.

"Most of them have some sort of water feature, so pools," Caitlin Kenney, Sunset Zoo's Head Zookeeper said. "Misters are a big use in this time of summer. We will also give a lot of the animals ice treats when it gets this hot. So that could be frozen dilute juice for the primates, or it could something called 'blood-sickles' that we make for our carnivores."

All animals have different needs, but regardless of their species, access to shade and water is essential when it's extremely hot outside. This is true not only for zoo animals, but for animals that roam the fields as well.

"Our livestock are going to be like you and me -- they're going to be stressed when it gets warm," K-State Agriculture Agent Greg McClure said. "And so that temperature gets to be in that 100 degrees or whatever it might be, they react like we do because the humidity also affects them."

According to McClure, it's also important to make sure livestock have clean and fresh water.

"Regular cattlemen, regular farmers and ranchers, as long as they're providing that good, clean water - fresh, clean water - and there's some sort of shade, maybe a breeze, they should be alright," McClure said.