Animals get into the Christmas spirit at Bristol Zoo Gardens!

Christmas arrived early for the animals at Bristol Zoo Gardens this week as keepers handed out stockings filled with tasty treats.

Penguins, tapirs and gorillas were given stockings full of their favourite foods – fish for the penguins and fruit and vegetables for the gorillas and tapirs. It will be the first Christmas for the Zoo’s latest arrival – a baby Brazilian tapir who is just ten weeks old.

The stockings are more than just festive decoration, as mammal keeper Joanne Rudd explains: “Giving the animals their food in a stocking is a good form of enrichment – it keeps the animals interested and excited because they have to hunt and forage for their food and work out how to get it out of the bag. It just makes dinner time a little bit more interesting for our animals.”

Visitors to Bristol Zoo can also get into the festive spirit by visiting Santa in his grotto, taking a ride on the Christmas train or heading to one of the Zoo’s three festive Carol concerts later this month.

The Zoo will also be welcoming two of Santa’s reindeer – Jingle and Belle – on Saturday, December 19, until January 3. Visitors will be able to get up-close to the reindeer, stroke their velvety noses and feed them their favourite food – lichen.

Santa's Grotto will be open this weekend (December 12 & 13) and then every day from December 19 to 23. The cost is £3.80 per child (price does not include zoo admission) and each child will receive a gift. The Christmas Train will be running every day, except Christmas day, until Sunday, January 3. The fare is £1 per passenger.

The Zoo’s carol evenings will be held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, December 19, 20 and 21, from 6pm-8pm. The events feature classic carols from a traditional choir and the harmonious rhythms of a gospel choir, all set to the backdrop of spectacular energy-efficient animal shaped Christmas lights. The Zoo will also be serving hot food, mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies in the Coral Cafe.

Carol concert tickets in advance cost £5 (£3 children); family: £13. On the night: £6 (£3.60 children). Discounts available for Zoo members and groups. For tickets phone 0117 974 7300 or email receptionist@bristolzoo.org.uk.

For more information about Bristol Zoo’s Christmas events please visit the website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk and click on ‘Christmas at the Zoo’, or phone 0117 974 7300.