Calgary zoo animals get Halloween treats

The animals at the Calgary Zoo were doing their own kind of trick-or-treating this weekend as visitors got a chance to see gorillas, hippos andeven penguins have some pumpkin fun.

A group of meerkats scurried up to explore a hollowed out pumpkin, which curator Matt Korhonen calls an enrichment item.

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"Basically, everybody is getting some kind of Halloween treat so lots of kids running around in their costumes and lots of animals doing some natural behaviours involving pumpkins," Korhonen said.

The zoo brought in about 100 pumpkins for the celebration and every animal receives some type of treat hidden inside.

Five-year-old Joey says he has seen some pretty silly combinations.

"Pickles inside of pumpkins, and carrots and lettuce," Joey said.

"Gorillas were eating those."

Korhonen says each species approaches the treats differently.

"The carnivores will probably be decimating the pumpkins trying to get to the big chunk of meat in the middle, whereas the gorillas might use it more like a little puzzle to figure out how to get the little bits and pieces inside," he said.

Korhonen said the celebration will definitely be back next year.

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