TYLER, Texas — We aren’t the only ones trying to keep cool in the triple digit heat.
Animals at the Caldwell Zoo are now getting special treats on Wednesdays to bring them some relief and additional benefits.
"Watermelon Wednesdays" will be held every week for the next three months.
"It's a form of enrichment, mostly a refreshing enrichment," said Jesse Santee, a zookeeper. "It's also designed to make the animals do the natural behaviors they would in the wild. For instance, the goats are jumping all over stuff like they would."
But, one thing they didn’t do was find much interest in the watermelons. So the zookeepers brought some carrots out.
"The watermelon is interesting," Santee said. "It seems like they're eating the rind and not the sweet bar, which is kind of counterintuitive. I wouldn't think that would be the case, but hey, they're at least getting that and they're getting some carrots also."
Watermelons aren’t the only way they help the animals stay cool. There is a waterfall in some exhibits, along with some fans with misting spray. Zookeepers also said they have some ice cubes with food frozen inside them.
"We give them their nice big pool," said Ricki Roemer, the elephant zookeeper. "They like to get into their pool during the summer. They also will create mud wallows out in the yard."
So how will the elephants feel about watermelons if the goats didn't seem fond of them?
"It's not something that they would normally find in the wild," Roemer said. "But it's something that's definitely different for them. It's what we call a food enrichment, which is very important to just stimulate their senses in general.
Roemer said it's also Tonya the elephant's favorite treat, and that she does not like to share with the other two male elephants.
As for the other animals, the zebras will roll in the soil and the birds will swim or chill in the shade.
The Caldwell Zoo hopes everyone makes it out to catch their scheduled watermelon feedings this summer. Every week will consist of different animals receiving these enrichments.