Halloween Spirit Gets Wild at San Diego Zoo
- Category: Local News
- Created on Tuesday, 30 October 2012 20:32
San Diego, California - Pumpkins, Frankenstein and skulls made for an early Halloween scream, or more like smiles, at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday.
A pair of 6-month-old jaguar cubs celebrated their first Halloween with jack-o'-lanterns stuffed with a little raw meat and a "bloodsicle." The cubs and their mother spent the morning rolling the pumpkins, finding the treats inside them, and playing tug of war with the orange squash.
At the other end of The Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey, three California condors, swooped down to claim their Halloween surprise. The gruesome scene included rats stuffed inside a mammoth and saber tooth cat skull.
At the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge habitat, bears Tatqiq and Kalluk found great excitement in three Halloween lawn ornaments in the shape of a witch, Frankenstein monster and ghost. The 11-year-old polar bears tossed the ornaments in their pool where they wrestled with their enrichment items until it was time for a nap. Visit www.sandiegozoo.org/polarcam to watch the bears in their exhibit.
Wednesday, Oct. 31, is the final day of Kids Free Days. Children age 11 and younger receive free admission to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Don't miss out.
The San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy is dedicated to bringing endangered species back from the brink of extinction. The work of the Conservancy includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, and international field programs in more than 35 countries. In addition, San Diego Zoo Global manages the Anne and Kenneth Griffin Reptile Conservation Center, the Frozen ZooTM and Native Seed Gene Bank, the Keauhou and Maui Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Centers, San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike Breeding Facility, Cocha Cashu Biological Research Station, the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, and a 800-acre biodiversity reserve adjacent to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.