Penguins Get Ice Lollies
Tue Aug 5,10:25 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Nicola Scevola
LONDON (Reuters) - Penguins at London Zoo savored fish-flavored popsicles Tuesday as humans and animals alike tried to keep cool in a heatwave predicted to bring record temperatures to Britain this week.
Forecasters expect Wednesday to be the hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching up to 97 degrees.
Rail operators are imposing speed restrictions fearing lines will buckle in the heat and many workers are expected to feign sickness to enjoy the summer weather.
Buckets of frozen water mixed with fish, fruits or herbs were given to tigers, bears and monkeys at London Zoo while children's sunscreen lotion was lathered on pigs at Newquay Zoo as temperatures topped 93 degrees.
"We tie the frozen lollies with a rope and let them hang from trees," said a spokeswoman for the London Zoo. "It helps animals to overcome the heat."
In Whipsnade wild animal park near London, elephants were bathed several times during the day and rhinos wallowed in mud to find some cooling relief.
The unusually scorching temperatures crippled the railway network, causing widespread delays after operators imposed speed restrictions for fear of buckled tracks causing derailments.
Forecasters expect Wednesday to be the hottest day of the year with temperatures reaching up to 97 degrees, topping this year's current heat record of 92.4 degrees, set on 15 July in Wisley Surrey.
Britain's all-time top temperature is 99 degrees Celsius recorded in Cheltenham, southwest England, in August 1990.
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