Phoenix Zoo taking steps to keep animals cool as temperatures climb into triple digits

PHOENIX (NBC, KYMA) - As temperatures climb into the triple digits, the Phoenix Zoo is taking steps to keep its animals cool, even the ones adapted to hot climates.

It's 100 degrees and zookeepers, like Sarah, gave Beaker the South American anteater a bath to help him cool down. However, he heads to an air-conditioned home to get cool and the cycle repeats.

Another zookeeper, Damien, sprays Mary, Lola and Bella, who are Galapagos tortoises, to help them cool down when it gets really hot as they don't really live in the water.

"These are kind of like tropical desert island species. So they typically like a little bit more humidity and a little bit cooler temperatures," Damien shared. "t's not the primary way we cool them off, but it is kind of a nice thing to do for them in the summertime."

It's like that all around the zoo. There are misting systems for the monkeys and the guests, and there's even a water-cooled habitat or the Gila monsters when it gets too hot even for the desert creatures.

The meerkats get frozen grubs and ice, but the biggest way the zoo deals with the heat is closing.

During the worst of the summer, the zoo's only open till 1 p.m., and then the animals get put away for the night in the middle of the day.

"They've got their pools and then here in a minute, I'm going to let them into their night house where they've got AC, which I'm sure they're ready for," Damien said.

This keeps everyone, from animals to guests and even the zookeepers, out of the worst of the summer heat.