Animals at a UK safari park have been getting into the Halloween spirit after being given treat-filled pumpkins by keepers.
Staff at West Midlands Safari Park have been using surplus pumpkins this week to enrich creatures big and small at the attraction in Bewdley, Worcestershire.
Keepers hollow out the pumpkins then hide tasty treats inside - such as insects for the meerkats, leafed branches for the giraffes and meat for the tigers. Photos show a hungry Sumatran tiger ripping into the snack while the cautious giraffes and meerkat pups more tentatively explore their new food.
Head keeper of carnivores, Chris Hodgkins, said: “It’s great to see so many different species of animal enjoy the pumpkins. Every year, the park’s events team orders in thousands of pumpkins and to ensure any surplus aren’t wasted, keepers give them to the various animals in their care.
"It’s nice to be able to offer them something that’s a little different and fits in with the time of the year. Pumpkins are great because they have a distinctive smell, can be hollowed out to fill with treats and some of our animals love the taste of it.
"We love to see the animals playing and exhibiting natural behaviours, foraging for the treats inside, but it’s also nice to see them rolling a pumpkin around and ultimately destroying it. Our sixteen-year-old female Sumatran tiger, Hujan, even stalked the pumpkins, before pouncing on them."
1. Meerkats get their claws into the Halloween treats at West Midlands Safari Park
2. Having a giraffe at Halloween at West Midlands Safari Park
3. A West Midlands Safari Park tiger gets his teeth into Halloween
4. Meerkats curiously check out the Halloween pumpkins at West Midlands Safari Park