Animals at ZSL London Zoo have been treated to some festive fun, as these adorable pictures and video show.
The llamas, meerkats and coatis were provided with a seasonal twist to their regular enrichment activities in the Animal Adventure exhibit.
There were carrot-laden wreaths for the llamas, scented stockings for the ring-tailed coatis and a Christmas hamper teaming with tasty crickets for the mob of meerkats.
Zookeeper Suzi Hyde said: “Our Christmas-themed enrichment is great stimulation for the animals – they love to investigate something new, and it’s a fantastic way of encouraging their natural behaviours.
“The ring-tailed coatis, a type of raccoon from South America, are very scent-focused animals – they scent-mark their habitats to claim their territory and locate one another – so they loved getting to grips with their smelly-stockings!
“The llamas and alpacas were equally impressed to find carrots hanging on the wreaths, and the meerkats used their spade-like claws to delve through their hamper and dig out their favourite snack of crickets.”
For details of Christmas activities at the zoo see www.zsl.org
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here