The animals at the Hogle Zoo will be enjoying enriching treats as part of their annual Thanksgiving celebration.

The Feast with the Beasts will begin Thanksgiving morning at 9 a.m. and will end at 1 p.m.

The Thanksgiving Day activities are win-win situations for the animals and for the guests,

“It is a lot of fun for families and it is an opportunity to get out and do something a little different on Thanksgiving,” said Holly Braithwaite, the community relations conductor at Hogle Zoo.

The animals will be given ex-tra treats as a means of enrichment, which keeps them mentally stimulated, encour-ages instincts and refreshes foraging technique, according to a Hogle Zoo press release.

"Hogle Zoo is on the cutting edge of behavioral development in zoos by being one of the first organizations to establish a standard for animal enrichment," said Dawn Neptune, behavioral programs coordinator.

Enrichment can come in many forms. Last year, the elephants were lucky enough to have an 800-pound pumpkin to smash and this year they’ll have more than 1,000 pounds of giant gourd to demolish.

"It all looks like playtime, but things as simple as a ball one day and a cardboard tube the next all improve the welfare of our animals,” Neptune said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 20 Nov 2008