Koala and galah lap up the liquids to survive Perth's record heatwave
Perth’s record-breaking heatwave has been taking its toll on everyone – including the local wildlife.
Videos posted online by Caversham Wildlife Park showed how its furry and feathered residents were surviving the scorcher: water, water and more water, please.
One little guy, Owen the Koala, took the unusual step of drinking from a hose.
As the Park points out: “Koalas don't typically drink water as eucalyptus leaves provide them with enough moisture, but when the temperature is up around 40 degrees, they appreciate a little extra.”
Owen’s neighbour, a beautiful galah called Clyde, was clearly enjoying a cool spray-down, spreading his wings as wide as possible and rolling around his branch to catch every drop.
Perth has been in the grip of its most extreme summer on record, with temperatures this week hitting the 40 degree mark – and over – for four straight days.
While many stayed indoors to avoid it as much as possible, there were those who lapped up the heat.
Tourists on the Perth Explorer sightseeing bus told the West Australian the sunshine was a welcome change to the weather at home in the UK, even if it was a little too hot.
“We’re having a mild winter but it’s just depressing and grey,” Glaswegian Louise Healey said.
“You come here and it’s beautiful and blue, bright, shiny and open.”
One Perth woman tested the extremities by baking a batch of cupcakes on her dashboard.
“I was on night shift and I was trying to entertain myself during the day and keep cool like everyone else,” Kellie Hill said.
“My make-up had melted in my car and I thought, ‘Well, how hot is it in here?”
Hot enough to cook cupcakes in less than two hours.
“They tasted really good but they were a bit dry. If anything, I probably left them in there too long,” she said.
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