How our animals keep their cool in hot weather
With the current rising temperatures and more sunshine on its way, a question we often get asked is how do we keep our animals cool?
To help them cope with heat more easily, our birds and otters do have some natural adaptations.
But we also like to give them a helping hand to make sure they are comfortable when unusually warm weather hits.
Our Asian small-clawed otter family
Mimi, Musa and Buster are firm favourites with visitors and certainly have their own methods for keeping cool such as finding shade, swimming in their ponds and generally moving far less than they normally would.
But did you know that otters can also regulate their own body temperature by creating pockets of air within their layers of fur? This prevents warm air coming through to their skin during hot weather and retains their body heat during cold. Clever!
And much like us humans eating ice lollies or ice cream, our keepers offer our otters iced water in bowls and hang things like frozen fish and fishy ice cubes up when it’s particularly hot. These dangling goodies provide great enrichment as they slowly defrost throughout the day, helping to keep them cool as often as they like.
Our ducks, geese and swans
Most birds are self-caring and during hot weather will find shady spots to lie and keep cool.
Some will take to the water more often for a dip or a splash, which helps to keep their body temperature at a comfortable level, while others will avoid direct sunlight, laying low to the ground and spreading out their wings to encourage wind to flow underneath.
With this is mind, we always make sure there are plenty of shady spots under trees and bushes so they can find a place to chill!
In technical terms...
- Birds lose a lot of their heat through their beaks, feet and legs, as these are the only areas exposed. There are arteries that carry warm blood from the heart, running alongside the veins carrying cold blood from the legs. This allows them to consistently maintain their body temperature. In hot weather, the flow of warm blood to the legs and beaks increases so the bird can lose unwanted heat and keep cool. This is why we feel their legs if we think they might be overheating!
- Birds have two layers of feathers - soft fluffy down on the surface of the skin, then hard feathers known as ‘vaned feathers’ on top. Neither has a blood supply. Because of this, they are naturally cooler than the main body and the two layers of feathers create an air gap between. Heat doesn't transfer easily through air and repels direct heat from the sun outside. On the flip side, it's this air gap that helps birds to stay warm, holding on to its heat in the winter.
New hatchlings
Our younger birds need a little bit of support when coping with the heat, so the team ensures that the ducklings and goslings have access to more shade while they're outside and that their water is fresh and topped up throughout the day.
For the most recently hatched birds inside our duckery, we closely monitor the temperature of the inside units and again regularly check and top up their water.
Our Chilean flamingos
Our pretty pink flamingos LOVE a bit of sunshine! As with other birds, they can regulate their temperature and have the air gap, but these are naturally more adapted to hot weather and are better at coping with it generally.
By tucking a foot underneath their body and standing on one leg, they are able to stay cooler in hot weather, as well as warm in cold weather. You may also see that they often sit down on very hot days, hiding both feet. They can lock their muscles in place when resting on one foot - meaning they are using no energy and therefore creating no heat. Incredible!
Waterflow
Our team spends lots of time checking the network of waterways around our collection areas and making sure that water is flowing around site efficiently - faster flowing water spends less time exposed to direct sunlight, while passing through shady spots at regular intervals, helping to keep it much cooler.
Where water isn't running, for example at the otter exhibit, we keep the water levels as high as possible and refresh it regularly to help keep it cool.
Ready to visit?
If you've been inspired to explore Washington Wetland Centre and see our animals in the sunshine, find out more and plan your visit online.
