April 1, 2010 – Got big plans for the weekend? Knoxville Zoo’s elephants sure do; they’re planning an Easter egg hunt for Saturday and Sunday afternoons and keepers will be looking for a little help from visitors to hide giant papier-mache treat-filled eggs in their exhibit.
The elephant egg hunts will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4 at the Stokely African Elephant Preserve. Just prior to the hunt, at 4:00 p.m., a few lucky visitors will be asked to help hide the “eggs” in the exhibit for Tonka, Jana and Edie to find. Visitors can also watch them devour their huge, elephant-sized Easter baskets on Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
It’s a treat-filled weekend for just about all the animals at Knoxville Zoo. Zookeepers will hide papier-mâché and real eggs in exhibits throughout the day for the enjoyment of the animals. Special keeper chats are also planned for the weekend so visitors can watch some of the zoo’s egg-loving creatures in action while their keepers share fun details about their charges. On Saturday, April 3, keeper chats are scheduled at the Black Bear Falls exhibit at 9:30 a.m., the North American river otter exhibit at 11:30 a.m. and Meerkat Lookout at 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, chats are scheduled at the gibbon exhibit for 10:00 a.m., the red fox exhibit at 2:00 a.m. and in The Night Club, the zoo’s nocturnal exhibit featuring raccoons at 3:00 p.m.
Special thanks to The Knoxville News Sentinel for their help with the animal enrichment items.
