CONTACT: Tom Gillespie
FOR RELEASE: Oct. 25, 2001 Telephone: 336-879-7202
N.C. Zoo Holds Annual Animal Pumpkin Pounding Halloween Day
ASHEBORO – Visitors to the North Carolina Zoological Park will get a special treat Oct. 31, Halloween Day, during the Annual
Animal Pumpkin Pounding, when keepers give pumpkins to the animals to smash, play with and eat.
Most of the pumpkins will be put into the animal exhibits at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Animals receiving pumpkins at 10 a.m. include
elephant, baboon, warthog, Arctic fox (at Rocky Coast), cougar (at Cypress Swamp), bobcat and otter (at Streamside), tortoise (at
Forest Aviary) and mandrill (at Africa Pavilion).
Animals receiving pumpkins at 2 p.m. include Dexter cattle (at Touch & Learn Center), sea lion (at Rocky Coast), cacomistle,
coati and ocelot (at Desert), meerkat (at Africa Pavilion), lion, red wolf, grizzly and black bear.
“We’re always looking for ways to provide additional behavioral enrichment for our animals,” said Guy Lichty, the zoo’s
associate curator of mammals, “from adding new structures and artifacts to their habitats, to occasional treats in their diets. Pumpkins
will provide items they can play with and give them a dietary supplement, and it should be great fun for our visitors to watch."
The zoo is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary; Michael F.
Easley, Governor.
Editors’ note: There will be a photo op for the news media Wednesday morning, Oct. 31. Media representatives are
asked to meet in the zoo’s Stedman Education Center lobby at 8:45 a.m. Transportation will be provided into the park.
Beginning at 9 a.m., polar bears, gorillas (9:30 a.m.) and elephants (10 a.m.) will be given pumpkins. Keepers will be
available for interviews at each of the exhibit overlooks. Please contact Tom Gillespie at (336-879-7202) if you wish to
attend so that appropriate plans can be made for transportation into the park.
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