Safari Park's big cats are treated to their own Easter eggs

To coincide with the attraction's Easter Eggstravaganza event, keepers created some large papier-mâché eggs for the animals, complete with colourful animal print patterns.

The Easter treats were then used as enrichment for the Park's cheetahs and Sumatran tigers. Keepers filled the eggs with bits of meat and placed them in the big cats' enclosures, ready for their own Easter egg hunt.

Kasha Carter, carnivore keeper, said: "Enrichment is really important for all of our carnivores and we have a varied enrichment programme, which we implement daily. This includes things like boomer balls, puzzle boxes, scent trails, hide and seek (with meat) and novelty items such as these papier-mâché eggs.

"Enrichment simulates natural behaviours and keeps them active, so it’s an important part of a keeper’s job and we enjoy coming up with new ideas.

"We loved watching the big cats with their Easter treats and it was really interesting to see how the different species reacted to them. The cheetahs are quite naturally cautious, so Cody and Epezi approached the eggs warily, before nudging them aside to find the meat.

“By contrast, our female tiger, Hujan, ran excitedly straight to them and started playing with them, tossing them in the air and rolling them around, using her paws. She then carried them away to protect them from her companion Nakal and started tearing them apart to get to the meat hidden inside.

"We hope all of our guests have just as good a time eating their chocolate eggs, as our big cats."