- Fear but no injuries after quake 'swarm' near Naples
- France begins its first war crimes trial of Syrian officials
- Blues look into early playing return for Beauden Barrett
- Iranians pay last respects to president killed in helicopter crash
- Japan's new whaling mothership sets sail on first hunt
- Markets retreat as traders take profits, eye commodities' spike
- Demise of rangelands 'severely underestimated': report
- India shuts schools as temperatures soar
- Muted on world stage, Taiwan speaks up at Cannes
- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid to buy Anglo American
- 'Heart of the left': ruling party fights to keep Mexico City
- First tourist rescue flight lands in riot-scarred New Caledonia
- New Caledonia tourists 'ecstatic' as rescue planes arrive
- Atalanta's Gasperini stands in way of Alonso's rise in Europa League final
- Funerary procession to be held for late president in Iran's northwest
- Taliban poets sing praise of new Afghan order
- Asian markets slump as traders take profits, eye commodities' spike
- Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning
- In Darwin's footsteps: scientists recreate historic 1830s expedition
- Parent company of Trump's Truth Social posts $328 mln loss
- Australia's Sam Kerr ruled out of Paris Olympics
- Sick of tourists, Japan town blocks view of Mt Fuji
- Sick of tourists, Japan town to put up barrier blocking Mt Fuji
- Amal Clooney helped ICC weigh Gaza war crimes evidence
- Biden says Israel's Gaza offensive 'not genocide'
- Trump trial prosecution rests, closing arguments likely next week
- Police officers killed as Colombia rebels launch gun, bomb attacks
- Top US banking regulator offers resignation after toxic workplace report
- Airport reopens in Port-au-Prince after 11 week closure
- Colombia replaces scandal-plagued army chief
- Nasdaq and gold hit record highs
- Youth movement: NBA's 20-something stars set to battle in conference finals
- Top-ranked golfer Scheffler's court date postponed until June
- Brazil mayor's mammoth task: rebuild from floods, prevent more
- Microsoft unveils 'AI-ready' PCs
- Trump trial prosecution rests, closing arguments next week
- New Liverpool boss Slot admits he could not resist lure of club
- OpenAI to 'pause' voice linked to Scarlett Johansson
- Women's tennis signs 'multi-year partnership' with Saudi investment fund
- Two policemen killed as Colombia rebels launch gun, bomb attacks
- Murray on the brink in Geneva comeback
- ICC prosecutor seeks Gaza 'war crimes' arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Hamas leaders
- 'Incognito Market' founder arrested in New York
- Cate Blanchett urges film industry to include refugee voices
- Sargent returns to US squad for pre-COPA friendlies
- Microsoft unveils 'Copilot Plus' PC amped with AI
- Biden slams 'outrageous' ICC bid to arrest Israeli leaders
- Five things to know about incoming Anfield boss Arne Slot
- Changing climate influences London's Chelsea Flower Show
- UK PM sorry for institutional cover-up in infected blood scandal
'Bloodsicles', baths keep Philippine zoo animals cool as heatwave hits
A Philippine zoo is giving tigers frozen treats made of animal blood and preventing lions from mating during the hottest time of the day as a heatwave scorches the country.
Unusually hot weather has sent temperatures in the capital Manila to a record high in recent days and forced schools across the archipelago nation to suspend in-person classes.
As people flock to air-conditioned shopping malls and swimming pools for relief from the extreme heat, animals at Manila Zoo are also trying to cool off.
Preventing heat stroke, particularly among the big cats, was the "main priority", zoo veterinarian Dave Vinas told AFP on Tuesday when the mercury hit 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city.
Water is splashed on the walls and ground of concrete enclosures throughout the day to help lower the temperature inside.
"Bloodsicles" made from frozen ground beef or chicken, animal blood and vitamins are given to the big cats to lick.
Tigers and lions are also regularly sprayed with water and take dips in pools inside their pens.
- Too hot to mate -
Wendell, a five-year-old Bengal tiger weighing almost 400 kilograms (882 pounds), pants non-stop as he soaks for hours in a shallow pool.
"Like the tiny cats we have at home, they need to sleep at least 12-16 hours a day. But at this time since it's really hot they are swimming to relieve the heat from the body," Vinas said.
Gab, a lioness, looks bored as she sits on an elevated concrete platform after zoo keepers locked her male companion Diego in another pen to prevent them from mating at the hottest part of the day.
"We don't want to expose them to the mating part in this heat," Vinas said. "We don't want to trigger any heat stroke."
Water is also poured over the enclosures housing snakes and turtles to help regulate their body temperature.
While icicles and baths were normal during the hotter months of March, April and May, Vinas said this year's heat was the most intense he had experienced.
"Even if they get good ventilation, the temperature every year gets worse and worse," he told AFP.
"We just find ways to make it better for the animals."
R.Adler--BTB