Pumpkin Playtime

Pumpkin Pie Playtime!

While the staff at IEAS join family and friends in celebration of Thanksgiving the residents at IEAS received pumpkins. The pumpkins given to the tigers, lions and cougars had a peek- a- boo hole where they could find some of their favorite treats inside including chicken necks inside. However, for the smaller animals at IEAS like our coatis, ring tailed lemur and capybara the pumpkins served as a desert platter where they could find marshmallows, peanut butter as well as their whole Thanksgiving feast. Our bears also got pumpkins with their diets, but our bears didn't need much encouragement to tear into their pumpkins.  They love to eat the insides and will shred and flatten their pumpkins to get the yummy insides. They also serve as behavioral enrichment for the animals as they get to play with them and destroy them to find their prize inside.

This is Duke, one of our handsome cougars, enjoying his first moments with his pumpkin. He seemed a little possessive of his new toy.

Upon receiving the pumpkins from Rainbow Plant Sales, Heritage Church of Christ and Dr. Randy Griffin we gave each resident a pumpkin and watched their interaction. We recorded various responses from excited and interested to indifferent or unconcerned reactions. For example, Cappy loved his pumpkin and upon receiving it began consuming it immediately and the bears tore theirs to shreds. But some of the older bengal tigers, including Caesar and Big John, seemed a little less interested and didn't care to interact. While others like Nala, afemale lioness, was more interested in saying hi to her visitors at the fence. You can watch the videos and get a glimpse at the experience up close through visiting and liking our Facebook  page or by following us on youtube.

Catch some of the action, live below!

This is Saphy, a 15 year old Cougar, interacting with her first pumpkin of the year. She still plays like a little cub. 

See the various reactions from all the different animals and how each one is different. 

This is Kodi, a white nosed coati, and her reaction to her pumpkin.

Watch Rasul make his own pumpkin pie. 

Odin on the other hand wasted no time tossing his pumpkin around to get his treats. To see the whole experience, visit our Facebook page where you will find a video of Odin and his pumpkin.


We are planning to do a second round of pumpkins with all of the residents soon, so be sure to stay updated on what is coming soon in order to plan a visit and potentially see the experience up close. We hold tours everyday of the week at eleven o'clock in the morning and offer a three o'clock evening tour on Saturdays.