Some of London Zoo’s nearly 15,000 animals have been eating - and playing with - special pumpkin treats ahead of Halloween.
ADVERTISEMENTThe residents of London’s biggest zoo were surprised with an early Halloween treat this week.
Keepers carved a series of spooky pumpkins for some of the animals to enjoy.
Tigers, okapis, Galapagos tortoises and even a Komodo dragon gorged on the gourds.
“With pumpkins in season, they are a sustainable snack for some of the animals, while others just love tearing them apart,” zoological operations manager Dan Simmonds told PA Media.
London Zoo animals munch on Halloween pumpkins
Some of London Zoo’s nearly 15,000 animals have been eating - and playing with - special pumpkin treats ahead of Halloween.
The gourds were scented with cinnamon and nutmeg to make them into a tasty treat.
Sumatran tigers Zac and Crispin pleased visitors by playing with the pumpkins as balls, tossing them around before chewing them apart.
Fellow zoo residents Polly, Dolly and Priscilla adopted a more leisurely approach.
They are Galapagos tortoises and weigh just as much, if not more, than the tigers. Aged 28, they're sisters and can live up to 150 years.
Eating the slippery skin of the round pumpkins proved difficult at first, so they chomped slowly through their eyes and mouths.
Komodo dragon Kahleesi was also treated to a jack-o-lantern.
Her usual diet is not vegetarian. The species normally eats reptiles, birds, eggs and mammals.
The Komodo dragon might be the largest and heaviest species of lizard, but 1.5-metre-long Kahleesi was nervous about the pumpkin at first.
She approached cautiously but after a little investigation, she found there was a tempting smelling piece of meat inside which she chewed with her 60 teeth.
For okapis Oni and Eden, pumpkins were hung from trees in their enclosure. They weren’t so keen on the flesh of the pumpkin, but wolfed down the seeds inside.
They had no trouble getting them with their tongues, which can reach up to 30 centimetres long.
Okapis are a relative of the giraffe. Their long ears can point in different directions to listen for any danger.
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo and opened in London on 27 April 1828. The establishment is also home to the world’s first reptile house, first public aquarium, first insect house and first children's zoo.
