The Bedford Estates, LondonThings were getting spooky down on safari this week, as the animals enjoyed plenty of pumpkins to celebrate the Halloween festivities, which had been kindly donated to the Park by The Patch Mk.
Pumpkins can provide exciting and stimulating enrichment to many different species both big and small, as an interesting new object to explore or as a very tasty treat! With plenty to make use of, keepers across all departments were very busy this half-term carving out lots of different designs and hiding tasty treats inside for the animals to enjoy.
First up to try this frighteningly good enrichment was Minerva the Amur Tiger! Keepers cleverly placed the pumpkins at different heights in her enclosure to encourage her to climb onto the logs to investigate further. She wasted no time investigating and used her sharp teeth to easily bite through the tough pumpkins, which replicates how she would use the strength of her teeth to bite into large prey in the wild!
Then, the eleven North American black bears got the unique chance to enjoy some spooky enrichment fun. Keepers not only carved fun designs into the pumpkins, but made sure to fill them with tasty honey and peanuts – what a yummy Halloween treat! They could be seen by visitors and keepers alike tearing into the pumpkins with their long claws and smashing them with their front paws.
Joseph from The Patch MK was more than happy to kindly donate the pumpkins for the animals to enjoy this Halloween season. He explained, "The Patch MK's pumpkins bring joy to so many through our pick your own, feed so many through our collaboration with food banks and local charities, but to see them being enjoyed by monkeys, lions, tigers and more. That's just amazing!”.
Want to join in the Halloween fun? Come along to our Halloween Spooktacular on Saturday the 29th October – where you can join in our Halloween trail, see awesome themed animal enrichment and enter our Halloween Prize Draw. Don’t forget your costume!