Lima zoo animals celebrate Christmas

Giraffes, tigers and lions at a zoo in the Peruvian capital Lima were given Christmas treats on Friday. Lions Kimba and Luana played with large cardboard tubes filled with herbs and pieces of meat. Resident dromedaries feasted on festive wreaths made from a mixture of alfafa and carrots. Biologist Celia Diaz, who was coordinating the program at Huachipa Zoo, said the treats were a way of stimulating the animals' curiosity, and enabling them to behave as they would in their natural habitats. Visitors were pleased to return to activities at the zoo after strict coronavirus restrictions were relaxed. Huachipa Zoo has been in operation since 1999 and is home to more than 1,000 animals belonging to 300 species.