BOISE, Idaho — These hot temperatures are continuing to warm up the Treasure Valley and Zoo Boise is ensuring their animals stay cool during this extreme heat. Zoo Boise is helping their animals beat the heat, by cooling them off with water and letting the animals choose whether they want to be inside or out.
“During this extreme heatwave, we are doing a lot of things to make sure our animals here at Zoo Boise are comfortable, cool, healthy and happy,” Zoo Boise Marketing and PR Coordinator Jeff Agosta said. “We are adding some sprinkler-type misters for a lot of our animals, some of our animals have special pools or we created wallows for our warthog to play in.”
Animals have cooled inside dens they may go into when it's too hot. These dens are out of the public eye, but Agosta says it's for their safety that they get that option to be able to do that.
One group you probably will always be able to see at Zoo Boise is the penguins.
“When people think about penguins, they typically think of cold weathered penguins but our penguins here and Magellanic penguins, they are warm-weather birds,” Agosta said. “What is really cool about their exhibit is their water. Their pool is well water, which is a lot cooler, in the 50s and 60s. So, in the summer it's a place they can go and cool off, but in the winter, it's a little bit warmer than the outside.”
Certain animals, like the gibbons, are given different frozen juices when it's warm outside.
“That encourages them to interact with that frozen item and cool down versus if we just gave them water, they may not to,” Agosta said.
If there are specific animals that you want to see, Zoo Boise recommends coming earlier when they open at 9 a.m. and when it's cooler out.
Advance tickets are recommended for guests and face coverings are optional except when participating in animal encounters. Tickets are available to buy up to one week in advance. For more information on COVID-19 protocols and to buy tickets, click here.
