{"id":584992,"date":"2026-04-04T12:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T12:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/584992\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T12:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T12:48:12","slug":"perth-zoo-animals-go-wild-for-easter-treats-as-keepers-swap-chocolate-for-enrichment-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/584992\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth Zoo animals go wild for Easter treats as keepers swap chocolate for enrichment fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the rest of us are preparing to nurse a cocoa-induced coma, the keepers and a dedicated army of volunteers have been busy playing Easter Bunny for some of the Perth Zoo\u2019s most iconic faces.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t be mistaken \u2014 while it looks like a hopping good time, the animals\u2019 festive treats \u2014 unlike our festive delicacy of choice \u2014 are more than just a sugar hit.<\/p>\n

Sabi, the Zoo\u2019s legendary 18-year-old Spotted Hyena, was treated to a stuffed meat bunny crafted from cardboard boxes.<\/p>\n

Sabi wasted no time ripping through the cardboard like a kid through gift wrap.<\/p>\n

Just a stone\u2019s throw away in the African Savannah, the neighbourhood\u2019s cheekiest trio of slender-tailed meerkats dug into a jumbo Easter bag full of live crickets.<\/p>\n

They were digging, sniffing, and diving head-first into the bag to ensure no bug was left behind.<\/p>\n

\"SabiCamera IconSabi the spotted hyena pictured enjoying Easter treats at Perth Zoo Credit: Ian Munro\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

Scattered across their habitat were \u201cEaster crackers\u201d\u2014 brightly wrapped cardboard tubes filled with carrots and corn, tied tight with ribbons.<\/p>\n

According to the animal care team, these activities are eggs-ential for top-notch welfare.<\/p>\n

They encouraged the animals to use their natural foraging instincts and kept them active for hours as they worked out how to reach the treats inside.<\/p>\n

By hiding food and changing up the delivery, Perth Zoo ensures the animals stay active, engaged, and curious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the rest of us are preparing to nurse a cocoa-induced coma, the keepers and a dedicated army…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1313,64,63,134,44,45],"class_list":["post-584992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-animals","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-news","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}