China:
Giant pandas at the Chengdu Breeding and Research Centre, in China's Sichuan province, have been having fun cooling down with huge blocks of ice, as a summer heat wave made their thick fur too hot to handle.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan in southwest China, has been sweltering under temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for 13 consecutive days, the hottest spell in the region for four years.
Experts say giant pandas are most comfortable at temperatures under 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). So keepers at Chengdu came up with a welcome solution for the heavily-furred creatures, putting huge blocks of ice into their enclosures.
Chinese state television broadcast footage of the pandas who were clearly delighted to cool down, embracing the blocks, lying on them, and nuzzling against them.
An adult giant panda can get through four to five giant ice blocks a day. As there are 102 giant pandas at the research base, about 3-thousand cubes are needed daily.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan in southwest China, has been sweltering under temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for 13 consecutive days, the hottest spell in the region for four years.
Experts say giant pandas are most comfortable at temperatures under 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). So keepers at Chengdu came up with a welcome solution for the heavily-furred creatures, putting huge blocks of ice into their enclosures.
Chinese state television broadcast footage of the pandas who were clearly delighted to cool down, embracing the blocks, lying on them, and nuzzling against them.
An adult giant panda can get through four to five giant ice blocks a day. As there are 102 giant pandas at the research base, about 3-thousand cubes are needed daily.
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