Animals at Rome zoo cool off with ice-cold treats

Animals at a zoo in Rome on Thursday enjoyed offerings of iced fruit to help them cool off at the start of another hot day in the Italian capital.

Park keepers and vets were giving the cool treats to meerkats, chimpanzees, brown bears, turtles and orangutans to provide some relief from a heatwave reaching 36 celsius.

According to the Rome municipality a Level 3 alert was issued in the Italian capital which indicates the highest level of risk for human beings, specially elderly people, and also animals.

Temperatures are expected to remain high for the entire week.