East Sussex zoo shares how it's keeping animals cool as temperatures soar

Drusilla's Park is home to over 80 different species

Author: Katie AhearnPublished 23rd Jun 2026

An East Sussex zoo is sharing how it's keeping it's animals cool as an amber heat warning continues across the county.

Drusilla's Park, which is home to over eighty different species, is using things ice baths and showers to help them handle the heat.

Zookeeper Emily tells us using ice cubes is a personal favourite:

"We've got a really nice big freezer and we like to fill that full of ice cubes filled with vegetables.

"We even use catnip for our cats, which they really, really love.

"And for some of our carnivores as well, we can do blood ice cubes, which is a little bit gross, but they really, really love them.

"We also have a lot of sprinklers.

"So for example, this morning I put our sprinkler on for our bintruongs on the top of their enclosure and they've been running around in it all day."

Emily added that the animals who deal with the heat best are their meercats and lemurs - who love sunbathing - while the red panda tends to struggle.

She shared some advice we can use at home to help our own furry friends deal with the hot weather:

"I think it's really, really important to understand that sometimes animals don't realise when they're getting too hot," she explained. "So it's really important that we help them understand that and help them move to shade or give them waste to cool down.

"Sometimes it's even best to keep them out of the heat during the day as well. So it's just making sure that we're looking after them."

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