(KRON) – The Oakland Zoo is celebrating Halloween by giving its animals seasonal pumpkins to eat and play with.
“The way animals react to pumpkins really depends on what interests them and their diet,” Oakland Zoo said. “For example, chimpanzees enjoy smashing pumpkins, sun bears love to break them open and enjoy the delicious taste inside, and baby tamarins eagerly dig through them to find mealworms hidden by their keepers. It’s always great to see how each of these amazing animals has their own way of dealing with pumpkins!”
Pumpkins are part of the zoo Enrichment programme. The Oakland Zoo’s website defines environmental enrichment as “a dynamic process that structures and alters an animal’s environment in a way that provides behavioral options to the animals, elicits species-appropriate behaviors and abilities, and enhances their well-being.”
Animal species featured in the video include the grizzly bear, jaguar, cottontail tamarin, slender-tailed meerkat, American black bear, North American river otter, ring-tailed lemur, and sun bear.
“It was fun for all the animals at the zoo,” the Oakland Zoo said. “We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween.”