Drusillas Zoo animals enjoy Easter eggs filled with bugs

The animals at Drusillas Zoo near Alfriston investigated colourful eggs and giant carrot pinatas filled with bugs, popcorn, nuts and vegetables.

Zookeepers said the activities help stimulate the animals by encouraging them to investigate, explore and interact with new and unusual items.

Head keeper Gemma Romanis said: “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.

A lemur investigating a pinata at the zoo (Image: Drusillas Zoo)

“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.

“It’s always great fun during the holidays to theme our enrichment and it’s fascinating to see how the different species react to the same stimulus.

"For example, our capybaras were a little hesitant and did lots of tentative sniffing before they interacted, our binturong, Penh, took his time trying to problem solve the best way to get to the treats, but our squirrel monkeys just started grabbing things in a chaotic manner, which is their usual tactic for everything.”

Monkeys, mongooses, lemurs, binturongs, armadillos, and capybaras were given the Easter-themed treats.

The zoo said it offers more than 800 animals new food items, puzzles, and activities to keep their minds and bodies stimulated and healthy each day.

Drusillas offers adventure play, family rides, splash pad, and dinosaur walk-through in addition to the zoo. The zoo is also gearing up for a new Easter egg trail offered in the park’s app for the Easter break, with giant eggs hidden in some of the animal enclosures.

Drusillas is located just off the A27 and is open daily from 10am.