KTVB.COM
Posted on January 2, 2014
BOISE -- These big cats aren't afraid of water -- well, at least the frozen kind.
In the newest video posted on Zoo Boise's Facebook page, three African lions experience what the zoo calls an "enrichment" activity to entertain and keep the animals active.
Essentially, staff members built a cutesy snowman in the lion's enclosure in order to pique the big cats' interest.
The video was posted on the zoo's Facebook page on December 29. The post reads "Check out the video to see the fate of our snowman! Lions are the only cats that live in groups." You can about guess what happens next.
To the casual observer, it simply looks like revenge on Frosty the Snowman, but that's not the point here.
At first, the zoo's resident female lions - Mudiwa and Obadih - seem puzzled, then quickly entertained by the friendly snowman built in their enclosure. Javari, the male, is seen lurking in the background.
After a few passes, two female lionesses lick and sniff the snow sculpture, break off the arms, taste the straw hair, and apparently decide how to attack it.
The big moment comes when one lioness pounces on the snowman, learns she can crush the snowy object, and summarily destroys it.
Zoo Boise Director of Development and Communcations Liz Littman told KTVB the enrichments are often a fun way to get the animals active and prevent boredom. "They've made snowmen for years for the animals," said Liz Littman, adding "This is something that's certainly fun for them."
The activity is certainly fun for people too. The Zoo's snowman Facebook post had over 900 likes and 400 shares as of Thursday morning.
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