Bears in an Indian zoo are being served chilled milk with glucose to help them beat the scorching summer which has already killed 55 people, officials said Tuesday. Authorities at the zoological park in Jaipur, capital of the desert state of Rajasthan, were also serving melons to other animals as the mercury shot up to 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend.
"We woke up to the plight of the animals after a leopard cub suffering from sun stroke was brought to our zoo a few days ago," zoo director Manoj Parashar told the Press Trust of India.
The official said the heat made the animals irritable.
Authorities said the zoo had also installed water sprinklers to keep the outdoor animals cool and padded cages with special khas grass which helped keep them cool.
Schools in New Delhi were asked to close up to a week earlier for summer vacation because of the unrelenting weather.
Source: Agence France-Presse
