WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Not only do we like pumpkins and pumpkin flavored things, so do the animals at Riverbanks Zoo.
This fall treat benefits otters, lions, gorillas, meerkats and other animals. These smooth, ribbed, deep orange squash are sweet treats and actually nutritious. Greg Peccie is the mammal curator at Riverbanks Zoo.
"We do try to take into account what their regular diet is going to be for that day or for that week and sometimes we can remove some of the items out of the regular diet when we know we're going to be putting a pumpkin in there. One of the things about pumpkins is it does provide a lot of fiber and a lot of our animals do need fiber," Peccie said.
The lions just like destroying the pumpkins as a toy, the otters love pushing them around in the water and the gorillas just go for it, ripping apart the pieces for a tasty snack.
Peccie tells News 19 pumpkins serve an educational purpose, too.
"Enrichment is just anything that we can give to them to stimulate their mind, their activity levels, their behavior," Peccie said. "Sometimes it's easy to use food, but also we like to use scents and spices we might put around the habitat. So, this time of the year, we seem to bring out a lot of our nutmeg and pumpkin spice."
New sights and smells make them smarter. It's like a brain teaser.
The pumpkin seeds are saved for other species, birds and small primates, later this week to forage for.
The zoo will start hosting "Boo at the Zoo" this Thursday from 6 until 9 p.m.