London Zoo animals given pumpkin treats ahead of Halloween
Zoo keepers say they use pumpkins as a way to encourage the animals’ natural instincts and skills.
Animals at ZSL London Zoo in central London enjoyed a Halloween treat today, as pumpkins were hidden around their enclosures containing different types of their favourite foods.
Daniel Simmonds, animal ops manager at London Zoo, said Halloween gives the zookeepers "a great opportunity to come up with new seasonal ways to encourage our animals' natural instincts and skills".
He explained that the keepers lay down scent trails which lead to the pumpkins, and in some cases hide their food inside to encourage foraging.
It is part of an annual tradition at the zoo, and comes as ZSL celebrates its 200th anniversary this year.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook , X and Instagram . Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
London Zoo animals hop on scales for weigh-in
Baby gorilla enjoys 'spooky' Halloween pumpkin
Topics in this story
Gathered from external sources. Rights to this text belong to whoever originally published it.