14 January, 2013 3:57PM AEST

Tuna ice-blocks on zoo's cool menu

Tuna ice-block? Yes please! Animals at Australia Zoo are given special treatment to keep cool during the heatwave.

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If you're feeling hot, a dip in the pool or a tasty icy treat can be just the key to cooling down.

Things are no different for creatures great and small at Australia Zoo.

"The keepers come up with interesting recipes for ice blocks for various animals," says assistant curator Amanda Brown.

"For example a cat like the cheetah may get a milk-block, they also enjoy the odd tuna block as well, it's not uncommon to see an ice-blocks with chunks of tuna coming out of it.

"The elephants get tasty ones with fruit and vegetables but being an elephant you want a bigger ice-cream, so we make them with very large buckets and we need a lot of freezer space for that one.

"They [elephants] will flick them around with their trunks and try and squash it with their feet, it's really cool to watch them cooling down with an ice-block," laughs Amanda.

Situated in Beerburrum on the Sunshine Coast, the zoo is home to reptiles, mammals and unique animals such as the red panda.

"Just like all of us all the animals are feeling it, everyone is looking for ways to cool down.

"All the exhibits have been specially designed to suit their various needs in terms of cooling, some of them are fortunate enough to have air-conditoned dens, swimming pools and we plant a lot of vegetation so they can rest in the shade," she says.

What are the creature comforts?

"Most of the mammals enjoy the air-conditioning.

"All the wombats are in their air-conditioned dens belly up, legs in the air enjoying the cool with our Tasmanian devils.

"We even have a special made air-conditioned log for our red pandas, but they seem to prefer to stay high in the trees enjoying the breeze.

Who gets cranky?

With all the warm weather who is the crankiest, the zoo keepers or the animals?

"We find that with our wombats particularly we often take them out for a walk but in this heat they won't have a bar of it so we give them space and let them cool down.

"It's not uncommon to see some of the keepers head into one of the coolers or air-conditioners as well," says Amanda.