Easter Fun with Aspinall Foundation

Aspinall Foundation keepers at Howletts Wild Animal Park treated their animals to some Easter themed enrichment over the bank holiday weekend, looks like animals like Easter Eggs too! The elephants and anteaters were given papier – mâché eggs, each one filled with delicious and nutritious treats to encourage stimulation and interest.

The African elephants had eggs filled with a mixture of maize and jumbo nuts, whilst the anteaters were given eggs filled with one of their favourite dishes – mealworms (think I’ll stick to chocolate!)

Animal Director, Neil Spooner, said –

Enrichment plays a vital role in how we care for the animals at the park and can take many different forms. Ultimately enrichment is designed to provide stimulation (sensory or otherwise) and interest in our animals. The elephants really enjoyed the eggs and they didn’t last long, the anteaters on the other hand took a little more time with their eggs but once they realised there were meal worms inside they also made short work of them. This Easter holiday our visitors can join in with the education team and make their own enrichment eggs and then watch what happens when the keepers give them to some of the animals.

Howletts Wild Animal Park also opened a brand new education centre over the Easter holiday, where visitors can discover facts about all the Apsinall Foundation conservation projects. Let’s hope mealworm snacks weren’t available for the visitors!