Animals have been getting inventive to try and keep cool during the heatwave.
Sahara-style conditions have swept across Europe as a plume of hot air from Africa moves north across the Mediterranean.
Some schools in France have closed, while Germany — famous for not having a speed limit on motorways — has introduced temporary restrictions for drivers.
Lions and elephants at Blair Drummond Safari Park have been using water fountains to keep cool, while the chimps have been enjoying ice pops.
Gorillas and polar bears at Prague Zoo have been enjoying fish and fruit sorbet.
The zookeepers presented the animals with big blocks of frozen water with different ingredients to suit their tastes.
The gorillas have two blocks hanging from ropes in their outside enclosure with a mixture of fruits inside, including pieces of orange, apple, pear, kiwi, carrot, pineapple and mango.
The eight Western lowland gorillas have a clear hierarchy when it comes to their treats. Richard, the dominant male, has one of the chunks of ice, while the remaining seven have to share the other one, patiently and slowly extracting the fruit.
The zoo’s three polar bears each have a block of fish and fruit sorbet however, unlike the gorillas, they don’t waste any time — consuming the treat in few minutes.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here