Posted on 01/07/2022 12:07:22 PM PST by SJackson
As some people are busy taking down Christmas trees and disposing of them in the usual fashion — leaving them on the curb for the city to pick up, burning them in our outdoor fire pits or propping them up decoratively on our lawns until the snow thaws — the Milwaukee County Zoo has a much better method.
That would be elephants.
The zoo's resident elephants, Brittany, Ruth and Belle, were given several of the Christmas trees the zoo had used to decorate for the holidays, and according to the zoo's public relations coordinator, Jenny Diliberti-Shea, "They love them!"
"They use the trees as part of their enrichment program," said Diliberti-Shea. "They're something new and different in their habitat to 'interact' with, manipulating their trunks, breaking the branches and eventually eating, if they choose to do so."
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Video at source
Feed them donkeys, it would be more amusing to watch.
The tinsel gets tuck in their teeth, but the glass balls do add a lot of crunch.
Deer like the green tips of coniferous tree branches - especially fir and juniper, or so it seems. It probably seems a real treat to an elephant. Maybe. But hey whatever!
At least they are getting their fiber for the New Year diet!
...and the elephant’s breath is evergreen fresh.
Around here, they feed the un-artificially sprayed Christmas trees to the goats. Goats love ‘em.
I still miss Samson, the Silverback Gorilla. Saw him many times as a kid. (Grew up in Milwaukee.)
https://www.mpl.org/blog/now/milwaukee-s-menagerie-samson-the-gorilla
“Samson was a male silverback western lowland gorilla given to the Washington Park Zoo in Milwaukee Wisconsin by the Pabst Brewing Company. Samson reached a weight of 652 lb. He was moved to the Milwaukee County Zoo in 1959, and quickly became the main attraction. Samson was one of the largest gorillas in captivity.”
Samson died of a heart attach in 1981.
“attack” ;)
Seriously? Pine nuts in pesto and cookies are great, but have you ever eaten any other part?
I remember him. Also Bushman, though only saw him at the Field Museum. Different times, imagine naming a zoo gorilla Bushman, that wouldn’t fly today. Nor I suspect would stuffing him and putting him in a museum.
White Pine is the type we have the most of around our part of WI. It is loaded with vitamin C. Pine needle tea is better than pill form for good health. Tastes great too.
I believe they do the same thing out here at the Oregon (Portland) Zoo. The elephants chomp happily on them.
The Enviros will use their dropping as air freshener in their homes
I’ve never eaten a pine tree but I have drank pine needle tea
Wrong. Pine trees are edible, even by humans.
https://www.skilledsurvival.com/eating-pine-how-to-eat-a-pine-tree/
Thanks for the link! I’m going to check out some of the other videos as well.
I’ve nibbled the freshly-opened tips in the spring, and occasionally made tea from the mature needles. Never tried eating the bark, although I know people who do.
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