For the second consecutive day, the Botanic Gardens zoo and aviary has had to be closed so that the animals can be given a reprieve from the heat.

“Anything above 38-degrees is too hot. That’s when we close it up,” said council’s park manager Henry Pavitt.

Of all the animals inside the zoo, it’s the pigs and bird species that react the worst to the heat.

“The pigs like to stay cool and moist, so they really don’t like the heat,” said Mr Pavitt.

“They can dig into the next enclosure to get out of the direct sun and stay cool.”

As for the birds, they’re perching under a  constant mist stream. 

“It’s a micro-irrigation system, so a fine water mist for the birds. The bigger animals have shade and they like the grass sprinklers,” he said.

But it's not only the fauna that struggles when the heat reaches into the mid-40s. The plants around the gardens have had to be constantly hand-watered by the garden’s team of maintenance staff.

“Overnight, we can put the sprinklers on, but during the day it’s a matter of dragging a hose around and turning it onto the soil,” said Mr Pavitt.

In the heat of the day, sprinkler vapour is evaporated too quickly to make a difference to soil moisture.

“It’s not too pleasant [for the team], but the big thing is to keep everything well watered. Especially since some [plants] draw more water than others.”

At this time of the year, it’s common for the gardens to close early when the heat swells. But it is less common to experience as many early closures as is expected this week.

“Just having so many days with such high temperatures, it’s really very hard. We’re definitely going through a lot.”