The holiday spirit has spread all across the rescue facilities of Wildlife SOS, and our animals with their caregivers are hopping on the reindeer sleigh! Everyone at the centres enthusiastically participated in making festive enrichments for our rescued animals. Enrichments are a great way to cheerfully engage the resident wild animals in our facilities. Watching them excitedly explore these gifts from their caregivers, their all-year-round Santas, brings the merry in Christmas celebrations!
So join us for a virtual tour as we take you through the jolly times our amazing staff organised!
Rescued Leopards Enjoy Christmas!
At the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC), our team brought in a bright twist to Christmas colours by arranging marigold flowers! The fresh scent of these also invited the bees and butterflies from around the centre to join in the festivities. An evergreen tree was decorated with glittering ornaments and a vivid streamer in honour of the Christmas spirit. Caregivers at the centre joyfully wore Santa suits and caps, and wrapped special packages for the graceful big cats.
As they carried along the gifts, the leopards, known to be shy and elusive mammals, were no longer hidden in their dense field… they had now smelled the treats filled into the boxes. Our resident leopards have distinct personalities which were noticeable when they approached their individual presents. Aditi slowly and cautiously approached her very own gift box, while Simba pounced on it with extraordinary determination!
Sloth bears Open their Christmas Gifts!
The staff at Bannerughatta Bear Rescue Centre (BBRC) were happy to dress up as Santa and his elves, as they sat together to package presents for the bears. These gifts were none other than food motivated enrichments that would surely delight each one of them! The caregiver-elves even put in extra effort to make a quirky Christmas tree out of green paper and used other colours to craft out the décor.
The bears were so excited to find out what was inside their Christmas presents. Hari and Rohini were instantly attracted by the smell of peanut butter that was spread out on the boxes. The scent had acted like an invitation card for the two! After first licking the peanut butter off, the bears opened their gift boxes that revealed a feast of dates, pineapples, and chiku (Sapodilla), and they were overjoyed while devouring them all.
Rohini, being a gentle and adorable bear, managed to peek into the gift box without tearing up the red wrapping paper. Unlike most resident bears who were ripping open the box to set the treats inside free, Rohini was thinking “outside the box” — she simply put her whole head in it to get to her fruits.
While caregivers work closely with veterinarians, at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility (ABRF), Christmas celebrations with the ursines brought in another opportunity for them to come together. This time, they were exuberantly devising fun-filled festive activities for the rescued sloth bears.
The boxes presented to bears consisted of popcorn with pieces of coconut and dates. Honey was chosen to sprinkle on top of the treats to elevate the aura of festivity. Molly arrived early to select a present before her pal Ron joined in the special celebrations.
Inquisitive Mowgli trotted over to his present and sniffed around it. He wanted to verify if it was indeed the scent of honey his nose had picked up from a distance. Once this was confirmed, he stood on his hind legs and dropped his front paws on the box, making all the popcorn roll out.
Elephants Under Care Spread the Holiday Cheer!
The elephant caregivers at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC) brought together a large feast for the gentle giants. A platter of fruits, vegetables and fodder had been prepared for them. Little did they know that a surprise that looked like small white clouds was also on its way. Boxes full of popcorn that were presented to the majestic residents. For Laxmi, the popcorn was intentionally hidden by flipping a box over them. The epicure smartly overturned it, and in no time, had munched on a whole bunch of popcorn!
Serene Suraj was a wonder to watch as he savoured every bit of papayas, cabbage, beetroot and bananas at his own steady pace. On the other hand, Chanchal and Emma were gulping down the treats as though it was a competition on who can eat the most! Thoughtful Tara also engaged with the Christmas festivities by selectively picking up trunkfuls of juicy sugarcane stalks. The peacocks around the facilities soon arrived and tried to take part in the celebrations too, but Tara raised her trunk to make sure they wouldn’t run off with her treats.
A special gift awaited Bani, our youngest resident at Elephant Hospital Campus (EHC), who was celebrating her second year of Christmas with us. At first, she saw the wreath, which the caregivers had made from raw bamboo and a decoration of bananas, cauliflowers and apples. The young pachyderm eagerly ate the edibles and then, almost tried to munch on the bamboo too! Her caregivers jumped in to lead her eyes to the fruit feast laid out for her. Much to their relief (and delight), Bani rushed to the scrumptious papaya and pumpkins that had been carved out like flowers. Bani also got her own box of popcorn, to which an extra helping of peanuts and chunks of sugarcane were lovingly added as a tasty surprise.
Christmas gives us an awaited opportunity to celebrate love and happiness with our animals. With the life they have had before coming to our rescue centres, such celebrations help them develop a deeper bond with their caregivers (and vice versa).
‘Tis the season to be jolly! Do spread the joy by donating for these magnificent animals. Your support can help all the rescued animals have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Feature Image: Akash Dolas/Wildlife SOS
