Halloween Isn't Just For People

ROYAL OAK, MI — Kids won’t be the only ones searching for treats this Halloween. The Detroit Zoo will be hiding seasonal goodies for many of its 2,000 animals in their habitats later this month.

While many of the animals will enjoy pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks other fall harvest items, there is a bigger goal in mind. According to zoo officials, the idea is to ensure that animal environments are “ever changing and appropriately complex.”

“Around Halloween, seasonal fare from local Michigan producers gives this activity a special appeal for both Zoo visitors and the animals,” said Scott Carter, the Detroit Zoo’s chief life sciences officer.

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Staff will hide and in some cases bury pumpkins filled with food items for the animals to find on their own. All year round, zoo staff hides food items throughout the animals’ habitats to stimulate natural behaviors such as foraging or stalking.

Watching them make the discoveries is fun for zoo patrons, too. The event will be held on Oct. 11 and again on Oct. 21. Here’s a schedule:

• 11 a.m. – chimpanzees
• 11:30 a.m. – polar bears
• Noon – giraffes
• 12:30 p.m. – vultures
• 1 p.m. – wolves
• 1:30 p.m. – wolverine
• 2 p.m. – anteaters
• 2:30 p.m. – camels
• 3 p.m. – otters

Photo courtesy of the Detroit Zoo