Big cats’ sack attack

Snow leopards Margaash and Nanga literally leapt at the chance to play with some old hessian sacking.

Keepers regularly hide sacks in their enclosure as a fun enrichment activity for the pair, stuffing them with a variety of smelly items for the big cats to hunt out.   Female, Nanga, jumped for joy at finding one nailed to a tree, before launching into an energetic attack on the bag!   Keeper, Jay Haywood, said: “Sometimes we put clipped sheep and alpaca wool in them, other times it could be used straw from various animals across the site.  

“We also spread food on the sack and always change it each time, as this keeps the big cats alert as they never know what smells they are going to get next.”

CAPTIONS: Assistant Curator Richard Brown fills enrichment sacks with straw from the tapirs’ paddock. 

Nanga gets ready to grab the enrichment sack that’s filled with used bedding from the tapirs.