TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – To celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, Kaohsiung Shoushan Zoo treated many of its animals to zongzi.
Capybara siblings, Lia and Lieber, seemed surprised by their zongzi filled with hay. Mimi, the orangutan, played with an oversized zongzi made with a burlap coffee bag. The zoo’s zebras, however, seemed indifferent when the snacks wrapped in leaves and string were dangled in their enclosure.
Kaoshiung Tourism Bureau Director Gao Min-lin (高閔琳) said that zongzi can be mentally stimulating and improve zoo animals' quality of life, per a press release. Gao also said the activity helped draw more visitors to the zoo over the long holiday weekend.
To prepare the zongzi, volunteers wrapped shell ginger leaves with vegetables and fruits depending on the dietary needs of each animal. The zoo said the shape of the zongzi and the leaf wrapping provided visual and tactile stimulation for the animals.
The leaf wrapping of the zongzi also sparked some fighting among animals housed in the same enclosure.
The Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau said extra shuttle buses have been added to serve public parking lots on either side of Gushan 2nd Road to accommodate holiday visitors. The fare for the shuttle bus is NT$12 (US$0.37), with discounts for youth, seniors, and the disabled.
Shoushan Zoo also said to utilize public transportation due to limited parking. The zoo is easily accessible via MRT with travel to Yanchengpu MRT Station and transfer to bus No. 56 which takes passengers to the zoo gate.
