Zoo Animals Go Wild For Easter Egg-Richment

As families prepare for a long, chocolate-filled weekend, the animals at a zoo in Sussex have been celebrating Easter in a more unusual way, with themed ‘egg-richment’ for their annual Easter photoshoot!

Zookeepers at Drusillas Zoo Park offered some of their monkeys, armadillos, lemurs, and lynx giant egg pinatas filled with bugs, venison, veggies, and nuts in place of traditional chocolate.

The activity, as well as producing fun seasonal photos, forms part of the zoo’s daily enrichment programmes which aim to encourage animals to investigate, explore and interact with new and unusual items. Each day in the zoo, the 800+ animals are offered new food items, puzzles, and activities to keep their minds and bodies stimulated and healthy.

Head keeper, Gemma Romanis, talked about the activity:

“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.”

Drusillas, is gearing up for its first ‘Centenary Saturday’ event this Easter Weekend, to celebrate 100 years since the park was founded by Douglas Ann in 1925.

Special celebrations include vintage car show, live brass band, keeper talks, conservation workshops, cream teas, and giveaways.

Located just off the A27 in Alfriston, Drusillas Park is open daily from 10am, with plenty of Easter fun to be had this holiday.