Zoo gives lions old Christmas trees to play with as post-holiday treat
By EMILY CEGIELSKI
Want to make a big cat happy? Try giving it a Christmas tree.
At least that's what they've been doing at the Linton Zoo in England, and the park's youngest pair of African lions, Zuri and Safina, really seem to enjoy it. The zoo's director, Kim Simmons, told the BBC that real Christmas trees are "like catnip" to the felines.
Each year, Linton asks the public to "spare us a thought" and donate old trees, which become toys and scratching posts for many of their big cats.
"Having been the centre of fun for several weeks in peoples homes, the discarded Christmas Trees come to us to provide hours of fun for our animals," Linton Zoo explained on their YouTube page.
Donated trees are also used to decorate the aviaries, as enrichment items for tigers and snow leopards (in addition to the lions) and for the zoo's green energy production.
"We've had a fantastic response to our appeal already," the zoo said in a press release. "Trees can be left at the front gate or on the drive if we're closed."
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