Animals get Christmas treats as countdown continues

Red pandas, elephants, and lynx have proved they’re on the good list this year, as Father Christmas (aka their zookeepers at Whipsnade Zoo) delivered a sleigh-ful of special seasonal food and gifts for them.  

Red pandas Ruby, Nilo, and their cub Hattie had their usual breakfast of bamboo and nutritional balls encased in festive Christmas presents, encouraging the elusive trio to sniff out their food.

Meanwhile, the conservation zoo’s lynxes, Amber and Ruby, wasted no time sniffing out their perfume-scented crackers, designed by keepers to stimulate their excellent sense of smell and inquisitive nature.

Finally three-year old elephant calf, Nang Phaya, had great fun investigating her Christmas wreath made of willow and conifer, gleefully tugging out bits of Christmas tree, before testing her ever-growing trunk muscles to pull down the wreath and demolish it for her supper.  

Whipsnade Zoo’s lead predator keeper, Kate Redford, said “It's so important to keep the animals in our care healthy and stimulated. At Christmas, we like to put a festive twist on their enrichment, way to make the season feel extra special, as we encourage the animals’ inquisitive nature and put their brains to the test!” 

“Ruby the red panda, a notoriously shy and nocturnal species, cautiously approached her Christmas gifts, while Nang Phaya the elephant calf and Ruby and Amber the lynxes needed no persuasion to dash straight to their festive gifts.”