In these dog days of summer, the wolves at Oatland Island Wildlife Center keep cool with bucket-sized ice pops.

Tuesday's recipe called for Cheerios embedded in frozen chicken broth. The four sibling wolves — brothers Ogeechee, Oconee and Suwanee plus sister Satilla — got one each just before noon when the temperature had already topped 90 degrees with a heat index above 100. Like dogs, wolves cool off by panting, a process aided by all the blood vessels in their tongues, explained animal keeper Clint Fagin.

"He's pumping blood into his tongue so that blood can be cooled by licking on that (ice), then he can actually cool his whole body by pumping blood through his tongue," Fagin told visitors at the Wolf Wilderness as the alpha wolf Suwanee licked an ice pop just inches away on the other side of the exhibit's viewing window.

At age 3 these wolves are like gangly teenagers, liable to pick at each other if they're bored on a sweltering day. The icebergs, as Fagin calls them, provide not only a way to cool down but also a way to have fun, as Satilla demonstrated by dumping hers in the pond then jumping in to chase after it.

"We have to make sure that they're mentally happy," Fagin said. "We could have wolves that are absolutely miserable laying in the grass doing nothing all day, maybe fighting each other a little more, but we like to keep a balance of fun during their day. They need some sort of entertainment, keep them thinking."

Most of the 16 or so species of mammals at Oatland, including a cougar, red fox and bobcat, get ice blocks. The carnivores' blocks alternate between broth based and blood based, the latter enhanced with baby mice or baby chicks. Some animals also play in sprinklers or cool off in tubs of water. Most exhibits also feature shade and clay-lined ponds.

Over in Oatland's barnyard, 1,800-pound Jubilee the Holstein got not only a frozen fruit and vegetable cocktail but also a heaping dose of sunscreen. Fagin applied insect repellent with sunscreen called UltraShield to the black and white cow's back as she munched on frozen kale.

"We just pour on our SPF just like anyone would," he said. "You always have to have someone you trust putting on your sunscreen. She uses quite a bit; she's a big girl."

Sunscreen use isn't all Jubilee has in common with people in the summer.

"When she does that weird lip thing it's brain freeze," said animal keeper Devin Doney.

Nearby, the Ossabaw pigs, Ramon and Fernando, don't need sunscreen. They have mud. But they appreciated their kale-peaches-and-carrot pop. Mostly the peaches, which they picked out first.

The pigs regularly get carrots, so they're not as big a treat.

"They're like, 'c'mon, carrots?'' Fagin said.