Lemurs on the Lollies at Aspinall Foundation Park

Looks like it’s not just us humans who like to relax in the sunshine with a lolly! Now that the summer sun has decided to show it’s face (finally!), the keepers down at the Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury have been cooling off the lemurs with an ice cold treat as the temperatures soared.

The keepers have been feeding the black lemur family of Aprily, Gasy and their infant, Kintana, some delicious ice lollies to help cool them down in the heat, and they were more than happy to get stuck in! The frozen organic treats are part of an enrichment drive to stimulate their senses and taste.

Head Primate Keeper, Matt Ford, said –

The lollies are made from organic fruit juice and help to provide an interesting and alternative food source for the lemurs – this isn’t something that they would normally have but the great weather provided the perfect opportunity for them to try something different.  The lollies certainly went down well with Aprily and her baby; they absolutely loved theirs.

The lemurs weren’t the only animals enjoying an icy treat in the sun. Not only were the African elephants given frozen carrots, beetroot and other vegetable treats, but they were also given a few beauty tips along the way! Everyone likes to look their best in the summer sun, including elephants, so keepers seized the opportunity to hose the elephants down to encourage them to dust themselves and exfoliate their skin.

Elephant Keeper, Natalie said:

The elephant’s love the mud wallows and the youngsters enjoy playing in the pool.  However, we have noticed that some of the older elephants don’t use the pool and spend less time dust bathing and exfoliating their skin, so we decided to try hosing them to encourage this behaviour.  Masa and Swana really enjoyed the hosepipe and were seen using the scratching posts but Jama decided that she could do a better job herself and went for a splash in the pool.

Sounds like everyone is enjoying a bit of fun in the sun!