11 December 2024
Christmas has come early at London Zoo, as zookeepers kicked off the festive season with treats of food and perfumed gifts for the animals.
Endangered Asiatic lions Bhanu and Arya, and their 9-month-old cubs Mali, Syanii and Shanti – born at the conservation zoo this year – woke up to find their home filled with golden presents, perfumed with frankincense and myrrh fragrances. These scented gifts were novel offerings to encourage the lions to put their great sense of smell to the test, as they explored the unfamiliar smell and the wrapped present boxes.
In In With the Monkeys, our group of Black-capped squirrel monkeys were treated to a pile of small advent calendar boxes, each filled their favourite insects, nuts and seeds for an incredible breakfast to start the day. The boxes offered the highly dexterous monkeys new challenging ways to search for their food, utilising their excellent foraging skills to open the cardboard advent presents.
London Zoo’s Head of Zoological Operations Angela Ryan said: “Introducing these festive offerings to the animals’ habitats is a way to encourage the lions and monkeys to use their incredible exploratory skills. The Asiatic lions rely on their keen sense of smell to discover treats, while others, like the squirrel monkeys, will put their problem-solving skills to the test, figuring out how to access goodies hidden inside festive packaging.”
The perfect festive family outing this December, visitors can enjoy a jam-packed day of Christmas-themed animal talks and games, all the while celebrating the season alongside over 10,000 animals that call our conservation zoo home.
For the ultimate yuletide experience, visitors can have themselves a merry little Christmas sleepover at the London Zoo Lodges. On select dates, lodge guests will spend the night and celebrate the Asiatic lion cubs’ first Christmas with them. This cosy VIP retreat includes scrumptious wintery treats and mulled wine, a night-time tour of the Zoo and special gifts for children on arrival.
As part of global conservation charity ZSL, every festive visit to London Zoo supports ZSL’s science and conservation work to protect and restore wildlife around the world.
