Creature comforts: frozen fruit, squid pops

ST. LOUIS -- Construction workers, ballplayers and postal carriers: Don't complain to Bud about the heat. He lives and works in this weather 24 hours a day.

Of course, as an African elephant, Bud is genetically built to handle 100-degree temperatures.

Bud resides at Grant's Farm, where four times a day he demonstrates elephant behaviors to cheering children. His reward: Kool-Aid and fruit frozen in a bucket.

"We stick an edible bamboo stick right in the middle," said animal curator Jenny Joyce. "It's just like the Popsicles you make for your kids, only this one would take them the better part of a week to eat."

While pets lounge on cool kitchen tile, other animals are hard at work, panting through the heat and humidity to entertain youngsters, protect our streets and ferry tourists around town.

"They're like people: Some can take the heat, some can't," said Jerry Grebe, manager of St. Louis Carriage Co. "And they're smart like us, too. When it's this hot, they work slower."

Grebe expected that only five or six of his 18 Percheron draft horses would offer downtown carriage rides Wednesday evening. Drivers carry 10 gallons of water in their carriages to give to and splash on their horses. That supply is replenished throughout the night. After a three-hour shift, the horses are hosed down and returned to their fan-cooled stalls.

"They don't work nearly as hard because there are not as many customers," said Grebe. "They're pretty pampered this time of year."

The St. Louis Police Department gave its horses Wednesday off after a morning workout. Typically, the horses work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. patrolling Forest Park. But Sgt. Paul Lauer, supervisor of the department's mounted patrol unit, doubts they will return to work before Friday.

"You can tell they're irritated," said Lauer. "The bugs get to them more. They'll get agitated and nip at each other."

At the St. Louis Zoo, the sea lion show must go on.

"Even sea lions can feel the heat," said Kyle Ulmer, manager of the show. "They are mammals just like us."

The Zoo's five dancing sea lions perform three shows a day, leaping through hoops and balancing balls on their noses. Between tricks, they typically rest on rocks. Not this week.

"They'll stay in the pool, which can be warm as a swimming pool," said Ulmer. "Sometimes we'll drain it a little and add fresh, cooler water."

The zoo, like Grant's Farm, rewards its stars with ice pops. Only these feature raw squid.

"Yummy squid pops," said Ulmer. "Doesn't that sound refreshing?"