Ice cold food for stomach and mind

As the temperatures soar, Al Ain zoo uses ice lollies to cool big cats and stimulate them mentally.

Keepers do not give animals food in ice blocks every day, as the beasts would quickly learn that all they need to do is sit and wait until the ice melts.

AL AIN // Big cats at a wildlife park are being given "meat ice cream" to cool them down in the summer.

The change to the menu at the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort is part of a programme designed to keep the animals both cool and entertained.

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Bones and meat are frozen in blocks of ice for the tigers and lions. For monkeys, bananas take a turn in the freezer before being hung on trees.

"During the summer months, we want to give animals a cool treat," said Farshid Mehrdadfar, the animal collection manager at the park.

The park operates an "enrichment programme" to keep the animals mentally stimulated. Keepers hide edible treats in ice, as well as in tubes, under branches, and bury some in the enclosures.

"It's about cognitive enrichment," said Mr Mehrdadfar.

"It gives animals a puzzle that they can solve. It makes them think about what they're doing, how they can manipulate the environment to get something which is tasty to them."

The trick is keeping one step ahead of the animals.

Keepers do not give animals food in ice blocks every day, as the beasts would quickly learn that all they need to do is sit and wait until the ice melts.

"Animals are intelligent enough to figure these things out. When you do it at random, and it's not in a routine manner, it creates a sense of anticipation by the animal.

"It's just like with humans. You'd get pretty sick of it if you had to eat chicken biryani every night.

"So we play a game with the animal. We try to get ahead of their thinking and come up with something new and innovative for them to explore."

An "enrichment calendar" means that every day of the week the animals are given something new to stimulate them.

These efforts extend beyond the way the food is served.

Sometimes keepers appeal to animals' olfactory senses - such as spraying perfume on a pile of brush to simulate the scent of another animal.

"It takes them a long time to notice it but when they do, they think it was deposited by somebody else," said Mr Mehrdadfar.

"They take a look around to see if they can find another animal. Some of them rub against it, or urinate over it in a way to reclaim their territory."

The park has 4,000 animals and 198 species - so keeping all of them comfortable over the summer is a massive operation.

Some enclosures have sprinklers, while others have cool, muddy patches for the animals to wallow in.

"We've all gone to zoos to see animals which are lying around and pacing in their cage. Most of the time we leave feeling sad.

"The most important thing is to understand animals natural habitats and create different choices for them to interact with the environment. Above all, we need to get into their heads."