Splash, Sprays and Summer Swim!

Houston Zoo Animals Beat the Houston Heat

With temperatures soaring in the heart of Texas, Houston Zoo’s dedicated animal care teams are ensuring its animals are staying cool and comfortable this summer season. From morning showers to midday sprays and afternoon swims, the Zoo’s furry, feathered, and scaly friends are staying refreshed while being enriched.

Enrichment plays a vital role in the animals’ daily lives. It allows them to stay physically and mentally stimulated while they exercise some of their natural behaviors. As the mercury rises, zookeepers are breaking out the summer-themed enrichment and animals like California sea lions are enjoying their habitat’s pool. The water in the 372,000-gallon pool is kept between at 60 degrees allowing the pinnipeds to exercise a natural behavior called “porpoising,” where guests can see them leap high out of the water and dive back in headfirst. Sea lions can reach bursts up to 25 mph, a behavior and speed critical to catching fish and escaping predators in the wild. Guests can watch the sea lions from three viewing areas, including two air-conditioned spaces inside the Galápagos Islands exhibit.

Another species who enjoy a summer swim is the Asian elephant. Elephants also keep cool by using their trunks to dust themselves. During summer, a splash in the pool serves double duty, it helps keep them clean from their dust baths while keeping them cool before they dust themselves all over again.

In South America’s Pantanal, guests can spot capybaras enjoying the water. Capybaras are a semi-aquatic species born with webbed feet with their eyes, nose, and ears located at the top of their head. This allows them to remain almost fully submerged for an extended period, an essential way to beat the Houston heat.

Red river hogs enjoy wading in water in the Zoo’s African Forest. Red river hogs get their name from the reddish color of their hair and the fun fact that they will often wade in rivers. They are known to be good swimmers and can even swim underwater, catching their breath every 15 seconds. Guests can watch the colorful wading hogs from the comfort of being inside our air-conditioned Gorilla Arrival building.

From elephants in Asia to red river hogs in Africa, guests who visit Houston Zoo are helping to save animals in the wild. A portion of each Zoo membership and admission supports the Zoo’s wildlife saving efforts around the world.