Enrichment is grrr-eat!

Asiatic lionesses, Kyra and Asha, had a roaring time playing with their latest enrichment toys.

The girls were photographed running round their one-acre Lion Ridge paddock in the pouring rain, with stuffed hessian sacks and plastic barrels.

Assistant Curator, Richard Brown, said: “We always rotate enrichment devices for the lions so that they don’t get used to the same thing.

“Anything new in their enclosure not only intrigues and entertains them but because we also hang things from branches, stuff sacks with used straw and hide bits of meat in things, it also encourages their natural hunting, tracking and foraging behaviour.

“And I think being able to splash around in the muddy puddles was an added bonus for them that day.”

Other enrichment activities used in the lion’s Tecton enclosure include footballs, ropes and hose reels, as well as scent and blood trails.