Illinois Zoo Gorillas, Mongooses, and Wild Dogs Dig Into Pumpkins as Halloween Nears

Animals at a zoo in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois, were treated to pumpkins for enrichment amid the zoo’s Halloween events, footage filmed on October 20 shows.

This footage filmed by Lynette Kleisner of the Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield Zoo, shows African painted dogs, western lowland gorillas, and mongooses playing and feasting on the gourds.

Visitors were invited to see animals including big cats and bears receiving pumpkins during the final weekend of the zoo’s Boo! at the Zoo Halloween celebration on October 23 and 24, the zoo wrote in a press release.

“As part of the Chicago Zoological Society’s Center for the Science of Animal Welfare, staff are always thinking of ways to physically and mentally stimulate the animals at Brookfield Zoo,” the zoo said. “One way is by providing them with enrichment items they normally do not receive on a regular basis, including pumpkins.” Credit: Lynette Kleisner/CZS-Brookfield Zoo via Storyful