Gus, the Tasmanian devil, is a long way from his native range at his Queensland home.
That's why his keepers at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have gone to extra lengths to keep him cool as the state's south east swelters through a heatwave.
Tucking into the occasional "bloodsicle" helps the devil keep cool, according to Anthony Molyneux, life sciences manager at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
"Because they're carnivores, they eat meat, so you mix a bit of blood with water, freeze it, and then you have a bloodsicle," he said.
Tourist attractions across Queensland's east coast are working to ensure the animals in their cares are kept cool in the stifling conditions.
Mr Molyneux said animals were at a higher risk of overheating.
"Much like humans, it's the young and the elderly animals that are a bit more at risk because their bodies can't cope as well," he said.
On top of homemade ice blocks, the sanctuary uses sprinkler systems in all its aviaries to keep birds cool and air-conditioned dens so the wombats can chill out.
"We have two enclosures, one is natural where [wombats] can burrow underground and regulate their temperatures, and the other one is a little den, which we air condition," he said.
He said it was the least the sanctuary could do.
"They're our Aussie icons, so we need to look after them the best we can."
The heatwave is expected to ease over the weekend, but yesterday the apparent temperature was 39 degrees Celsius in Archerfield, 38.6C in Greenbank, 37.7C in Beerburrum and 37C in Brisbane.
Polar bears fussy with water temperature
At Sea World Marine Park on the Gold Coast, the three polar bears — Hudson, Nelson and Mishka — can also choose to take shelter in climate-controlled dens, said Mitchell Leroy, the curator of mammals at the theme park.
The trio also have access to about four tonnes of flaked ice and a chilled saltwater pool.
But the park has learned not to play around with changing the water temperature too much.
"Interestingly, we have found if we make the pool too cool, they won't get in it," he said.
"We find if it sits around 19 to 21 degrees, that's when they'll engage with the water the most."
An icicle banquet on the Sunshine Coast
Meanwhile, on the Sunshine Coast, zookeepers at Wildlife HQ on the Sunshine Coast use hibiscus flower ice blocks for the lemurs, while the spider monkeys and sun bear love blended fruit flavours.
Collections manager Nikki Mikula said staff at the park put in a lot of preparation work in the lead-up to summer to ensure animal enclosures are comfortable.
"We walk around each enclosure to work out how we can make it cooler and put up extra shade where we can," she said.
She said along with additional shading of the park and icicles, they used sprinklers, frozen towels and cooling mats for animals.
Ms Mikula said animals like emus were more than happy to take advantage of sprinklers at the park, but meerkats were not as keen on the water.
She said their meals were served in water on hot days, so they got a chance to cool down as they ate.
"The meerkats get trays of water with mealworms in the middle," she said.
She said some animals needed coaxing to interact with icicles on hot days.
For example, she said some monkeys would not take an icicle with vegetables frozen inside.
"They're not so keen, so we add some fruit inside to get them interested."
A zoo spokesperson added that people could use the same methods to look after their pets at home.
"Creating ice blocks can be done for your pets at home by freezing some of their regular food with water to keep them hydrated as we enter the summer months," the spokesperson said.
"It is always important to make sure our animals have access to shady areas, either through natural shade or artificial shade structures."
