GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Spooky season may be over, but local zoo animals still got to enjoy some post-Halloween festivities this Friday!
Leftover pumpkins made for tasty snacks for several residents at John Ball Zoo.
More than 500 pounds of pumpkins and other gourds were delivered Friday. Naturally, the bigger animals — including bears, cows, large cats and more — indulged in the larger pumpkins.
"It's just something that you can't even imagine until you see it," says zookeeper Paul Suplinskas. "You can imagine how much those pumpkins weigh, and ... he can pick it up with just his neck and his jaw and carry that thing around, which, in the wild, they might drag a whole prey item — a deer, or a mountain sheep or something like that."
Porcupines, spider monkeys, reptiles, tortoises and other small animals delighted in smaller-sized pumpkins and gourds.
However, even though pumpkins do offer some nutrition, many of them will not be consumed.
“The pumpkins are pretty fun because there's something natural; they're pretty. You know, they're fun for a lot of animals to destroy,” says Commissary Supervisor Shakira Stowers. “These giant pumpkins are so massive that it's probably more so going to be about that mental stimulation.”
The pumpkins and gourds were previously used as decorations at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
Visitors can look forward to watching the animals eat and play with them this weekend.
