In the build-up to National Pumpkin Day, Walt Disney World created pumpkin-based treats for some full-time residents of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
Is pumpkin-spice mania spreading in the animal kingdom?
“Some of our animals may like the smell of pumpkin spice. I haven’t witnessed this myself. But I’ve heard that the tigers like pumpkin spice,” said Shannon Livingston, an animal nutritionist at Disney World.
“We use a lot of scents and different spices, kind of as sensory enrichment for animals. They don’t eat it, but we use it to change up how their environment is and some of the smells they like. And some of the smells they don’t like,” she said.
These seasonal eats are more like enrichment, a physical or mental stimulation for the animals, than culinary delight. Likewise for the three pumpkins rigged up to look Mickey Mouse-ish for the giant Galapagos tortoises living in the shadow of the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.
When the pumpkins were placed in their enclosure, the tortoises made beelines to the unexpected snack.
“They can be quick,” said animal keeper Sara Frumoff, who watches over the tortoises and other animals in the park’s Discovery Island area.
The animals jockeyed for position, climbing awkwardly onto each other’s backs. They don’t really buy into personal space, Frumoff said.
The six tortoises are appropriately named Phantom, Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Creature and Wolfman and are known collectively as the Monsters of Discovery Island, she said.
Similar enrichments include faux birthday cakes and otter balls, a selection of seafood suspended in frozen orbs that are rolled around for entertainment until thawed (and eaten).
The pumpkin-based items and all other food for Disney World’s animal population are prepared in the Animal Nutrition Center, which is backstage at Animal Kingdom and distributed across the property.
“Our overall goal is health. But part of their overall health is general well-being,” Livingston said. “We want to make sure that our animals are getting the nutrients they need, but it has to be in a form that’s going to encourage natural behaviors. We want them to do what they naturally do.”
That doesn’t mean a treat isn’t called for at times. In the corner of the nutrition center are shelves with boxes of enrichment goodies. Among the items are nutmeg, shredded wheat, honey, apple sauce, peanut butter, popcorn, coconut milk, kosher salt and camomile tea.
“Some of our primates will actually drink tea. They prefer the berry flavors. They are not shy in letting us know if we send them a flavor they don’t like,” Livingston said. “But it’s a way we encourage hydration in the animals.”
The supplemental feedings can secretly help with medications and vitamins, too.
‘I make them little fiber patties. I can’t get them to drink like a psyllium drink, but I can put it into a weird-looking cookie,” Livingston said. “Things like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice tend to make them a little bit more palatable, or at least they’re more willing to eat them.”
One favorite: the sweet potato smear. For a red river hog that is undergoing cold laser therapy, the sweet stuff is a distraction.
“By the time she’s done enjoying her sweet potato puree or bean paste, her treatment is done, and everybody’s happy,” Livingston said.
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