Baby yaks and monkeys get into Halloween spirit at Whipsnade Zoo

Baby yaks, Ron and Lily, were some of the new arrivals who were enjoying some spooky surprises at Whipsnade Zoo ahead of Halloween this week.

Animals put their foraging and hunting skills to the test after their keepers carved pumpkins for an enrichment activity.

François' langur enjoying some pumpkin. Picture: ZSLplaceholder image
François' langur enjoying some pumpkin. Picture: ZSL

Ron and Lily, along with the rest of their family, who all named after Harry Potter characters, wasted no time stretching their long tongues inside the pumpkins to get their hay breakfast treat.

A troop of Francois langurs and Sulawesi crested macaques did some trick-or-treating of their own. Babirusa brothers, Jaya and Riko, got stuck into demolishing their ghoulish presents, using their teeth and tusks to rip open each pumpkin.

Animal manager, Hayley Jakeman, said: “October is always a magical month at our conservation zoo, made more so by the keepers coming up with inventive ways to make sure our animals aren’t missing out on any Halloween fun.”

Whipsnade Zoo is open this October half-term – with a packed schedule of animal talks, ghost tours, a graveyard trail and creepy crafts. Visitors might get a glimpse of the zoo’s baby rhino, who was born a few weeks ago.

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