As a relentless summer heat wave transforms Korea’s urban concrete into open-air saunas, human residents typically retreat toward air-conditioned cafes and iced Americanos. But for the roughly 100 species residing at Seoul Grand Park, surviving August requires a vastly different culinary strategy: frozen beef leg bones, whole watermelons, and the high-stakes thrill of hunting live catfish.

Zoo officials at the park dispatched a staggering 920 kilograms of specialized seasonal treats across 15 animal enclosures, Friday, launching an annual summer welfare campaign designed to combat heat-induced apathy, dehydration, and thermal stress.

For the park's apex predators, cooling down is a deeply carnivorous affair.

Siberian tigers, whose natural evolutionary blueprint leans toward frigid Russian taigas rather than muggy Korean summers, received electrolyte-rich ice cakes packed with raw chicken, calcium-dense beef leg bones, and fresh meats. The frozen blocks double as thermal regulation and behavioral enrichment, requiring the big cats to lick, chew, and claw their way to a protein-rich payoff.

Across the grounds, aquatic and semi-aquatic residents faced their own bespoke summer menus.

Hippopotamuses were treated to chilled, carved watermelons overflowing with fruit juices, while South American sea lions and spotted seals put on dynamic aquatic displays as zookeepers introduced live catfish into their pools, reigniting natural hunting instincts and splashing away the afternoon lethargy.

At the elephant complex, keepers tossed stalks of sweet sugarcane into deep swimming pools, enticing three Asian elephants to submerge completely — a rare underwater spectacle for park visitors as the pachyderms dived to retrieve sunken treasures resting at the bottom. Meanwhile, desert-native meerkats navigated custom ice beds crafted to keep their paws cool, leaping toward suspended raw chickens to encourage agile foraging despite the oppressive humidity.

"Extended heat waves drastically sap physical vitality from animals, making thermal management and nutritional care a top health priority," said Park Jin-soon, director of Seoul Grand Park. "By combining essential nutrients and vitamins with interactive behavioral enrichment, we aim to safeguard their immunity, maintain their natural energy, and ensure every resident stays healthy through the summer's peak."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.