Sequoia Park Zoo animals enjoy Christmas treats

EUREKA – It’s not just kids who unwrapped presents for Christmas.
River otters, gibbons and spider monkeys were just a few of the animals that got to open gifts at the Sequoia Park Zoo.
Our cameras caught the Chacoan Peccaries rooting through their presents.
Zookeepers wrapped their favorite foods into cardboard boxes decorated by zoo members then threw them in to the pen.
The peccaries rolled them around then ripped in to enjoy sweet potatoes, bell peppers and lettuce.
Keepers say in addition to being fun for the zoo’s visitors this serves as an important enrichment activity for animals in captivity.
Zookeeper Lindsey Miller said, “They were working on cardboard boxes, trying to rip them up but also rolling them with their nose which is really great because that is something they would do in the wild to get quills off the cactus that these guys eat a lot of. So we are encouraging lots of different behaviors along with sme3lling and foraging and then rolling and using their hooves and having to work for their food a little bit.”
Miller added you can bring a treat for animals too. Contact Sequoia Park Zoo before you visit to learn more.