Families can look forward to a great day out with the kids during the school break at Noah’s Ark as there will be a host of indoor and outdoor activities on offer. Keepers use the annual event as an opportunity to provide enriching activities for their animals with themed treats presented in pumpkins. All creatures great and small will be receiving their own pumpkin-themed treats this half-term. The special carved pumpkins offer a stimulating activity for animals as they work to get to the food inside, as well as fun for our visitors, who are able to see the kinds of things our keepers do to keep our animals’ minds engaged and bodies active and healthy. Enrichment takes many forms at zoos and is considered a critical part of the daily management plans for exotic animals who can easily become bored, inactive and unhealthy if not keep stimulated. Much modern research into the welfare of animals living in captivity focuses on the benefits that naturalistic enclosures and enrichment may have for mental and physical health. Our big zoo animals like Rumbull and Rumba, our mighty rhino pair, always have fun with their pumpkin playthings which they can roll around to expose their treats. Our primates particularly enjoy Pumpkin Day. These extremely clever creatures need to keep their minds busy so they don’t get bored. By hanging treat-filled pumpkins in the gibbon enclosures, keepers ensure their charges can stretch their long arms and climb as they love to. Gibbon Gallery is a great place to visit and see the Siamang Gibbon family swinging around joyfully, from dad Samson down to little baby Sam. Make sure you’re over at the Big Cat Sanctuary by the lion and tiger corner at 12.45 or 4pm for the Big Cat Feed which will have a special Halloween feel to it. Our beautiful big cats will be getting their own, meat-filled, pumpkins to play with. Tigers Tiana and Khan will get giant pumpkins to explore and our lions Zulu and Masai and lionesses Arusha and Vilma will equally be treated to squashes to rival their normal prey. Pumpkin Day is a really fantastic day out in Bristol and is a highlight during what looks set to be a busy Half Term holiday at Noah’s Ark with fun daily events for families including the Animal Show and Bird of Prey Flying Display. We’re open Monday-Saturday 10.30am-5pm and you can find us just outside of Bristol, moments from the M5 motorway. For more information about the animals great and small at the zoo please visit the Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm website or call 01275 852606.
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