Iced fish keep chimps cool

Sprinklers help penguins keep cool

As north Wales continues to bask in the hot weather keepers at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay are using ice lollies to cool down their chimpanzees and primates.

On Tuesday temperatures in Flintshire hit 27C and Anglesey notched up the highest temperature in mainland UK with 33.2C (91.4F).

The zoo's penguins have been given their own sprinklers while the brown bears are enjoying buckets of slushed ice mixed with fish and grapes.

Staff have even frozen fish for some of the animals so they can have their very own, unique ice lollies.

"The camels have been getting extra water and the penguins and chimpanzees have been hosed down," said director Chris Jackson.

The chimpanzees have been entertaining visitors

"The chimpanzees quite like it, they're a bit like children.

"We have to ensure that the animals have got plenty of water and plenty of shade."

Mr Jackson said zoo keepers are used to the hot weather in Colwyn Bay and know exactly how to handle the situation.

"We had a lovely hot August in Colwyn Bay last year," he said.

"We're really quite used to this and it's not the same intensity of heat as in the south east of England.

"We don't have animals here that come from particular polar climbs," he added.

BBC weather forecasters are predicting it could get hotter from late Thursday until Friday.