A Sussex Zoo treats animals to bug-filled Easter Eggs
Zookeepers at Drusillas Zoo Park in East Sussex have been treating their animals to some Easter themed egg-richment activities to celebrate the holidays – in the shape of giant Easter eggs!
Last updated 9th Apr 2023
The Park’s red pandas, squirrel monkeys, armadillos, meerkats, and even tiny baby dwarf mongooses were offered large papier mâché Easter eggs, except instead of chocolate they found tasty bugs, seeds, and veggies inside.
The activity, although lots of fun to watch, also encourages the animals to investigate, explore and interact with new and unusual items as part of their daily enrichment programmes.
Each day in the zoo, the 800+ animals are offered new items, puzzles and activities to keep their minds stimulated and healthy.
Head keeper, Gemma Romanis, talked about the programmes:
“Just like we would get bored doing the same thing day in and day out, animals need new and exciting things in their day to keep them stimulated, much like your pets at home. In addition, introducing new and unusual things helps encourage them to use natural and instinctive behaviours such as recognising scents, foraging, and problem solving. If we just handed them food in the same way every day, they would lose their natural abilities.”