Otterly ace Wimbledon enrichment

_{PUBLISHED 14/07/23}

Drusillas serves up Wimbledon enrichment for an ‘otterly’ good time

It’s game, pet, and match for the animals at Drusillas Zoo in Sussex this week, as they have been enjoying some tennis-themed fun ahead of the Wimbledon final this weekend.

The zoo’s group otters made a racquet with balls served in their pool, the colobus monkeys’ giant tennis ball swing was a smash hit, and the meerkats and armadillos practiced their ground stroke with some ball rolling.

Zoo Section Leader, Claudia Farley commented: “We’re big tennis fans here at the Park, and so thought it was a great excuse to introduce some new activities to our animals. We offer them enrichment activities every day, often different puzzles and challenges to find their food, and it helps keep their minds active and stimulated and helps encourage them to use natural and instinctive behaviours such as recognising scents, foraging, and solving problems.”

“It’s fascinating to observe how different species respond to the same stimulus. We have quite a few youngsters in our group of colobus monkeys and they had an ace time swinging from the ball which was brilliant to watch. The meerkats and armadillos got some fabulous exercise snuffling and rolling the balls around, and our otters always get stuck into new activities, they looked like puppies playing!”

Each day in the Sussex zoo, the 800+ animals are offered new items, puzzles and activities to keep their minds stimulated and healthy.