Ice Pops Cool Down Monkeys in Brazil at a Rio Zoo during a Rare Winter Heat Wave

 A spider monkey opens its mouth as frozen fruit is served at the BioParque do Rio amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
A spider monkey opens its mouth as frozen fruit is served at the BioParque do Rio amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
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Ice Pops Cool Down Monkeys in Brazil at a Rio Zoo during a Rare Winter Heat Wave

 A spider monkey opens its mouth as frozen fruit is served at the BioParque do Rio amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
A spider monkey opens its mouth as frozen fruit is served at the BioParque do Rio amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)

Upon spotting a zookeeper laden with a bucket full of fruit-flavored ice pops, black spider monkeys in Rio de Janeiro’s BioParque gracefully swung their way towards him on Friday, chattering excitedly.

While it's technically still winter in Brazil, with spring due to start on Saturday, a heat wave has engulfed the country since the beginning of the week, causing humans and animals alike to eagerly greet any chance of cooling down.

“Normally they get a break from the heat in the winter, but it’s been so hot. They have even shed their winter layer of fur,” said zookeeper Tadeu Cabral, who handed out some treats, while others were scattered around.

The ice pops are part of the monkeys’ well-being program. They provide thermal comfort, and dispersing the popsicles in different locations also stimulates their behavioral need for foraging.

For the monkeys, the ice pops are watermelon, pineapple or grape flavored. But for Simba, the zoo’s lion, the ice treat is made up of blood or minced meat.

Koala the elephant, now more than 60 years old, was rescued from a Sao Paulo circus in the 1990s. She wrapped her trunk around the block of frozen fruit, placed it under her foot and squashed the treat, before slurping it up.

To cool her down even more, a zookeeper sprayed Koala with a hose.

“Elephants love water. She also throws mud on her back to protect herself from the heat and parasites, like mosquitoes. When wet, the mud layer gets thicker and helps her even more,” said Daniel Serieiro, a biologist at the zoo.

Carlos Acuña, a tourist from Costa Rica, looked on as Koala was sprayed with water.

“It’s great that they’re showering her, that they are making her feel comfortable. The heat is so intense,” he said.

Temperatures are due to exceed 40 C (104 F) in Sao Paulo state and the central-west and north regions, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.

Abnormally high temperatures, caused by global warming, increase the risk of wildfires. On Thursday, firefighters in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state battled flames fanned by strong winds.



China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
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China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 

A tourist village in China's southwestern province of Sichuan famed for its scenic snow landscape said it was sorry for using cotton wool and soapy water to create fake snow after online criticism from visitors went viral.

In a post on its official Wechat account on February 8, the Chengdu Snow Village project said during the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, the weather was warm and the snow village did not take shape as anticipated.

China is facing hotter and longer heat waves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the country's weather bureau has warned.

"In order to create a 'snowy' atmosphere the tourist village purchased cotton for the snow...but it did not achieve the expected effect, leaving a very bad impression on tourists who came to visit," the Chengdu Snow Village project said in the statement.

After receiving feedback from the majority of netizens, the tourist area began to clean up all the snow cotton.

The village said it "deeply apologizes" for the changes and that tourists could get a refund. The site has since been closed.

Photos on Wechat showed large cotton wool sheets strewn about the grounds, only partially covering leafy areas. A thick snow layer appeared to blanket the houses in the zone but as you got closer, it was all cotton, said one netizen.

"A snow village without snow," said another user.

"In today's age of well-developed Internet, scenic spots must advertise truthfully and avoid deception or false advertising, otherwise they will only shoot themselves in the foot."