New autumn arrivals enjoy their first Halloween at Cotswold Wildlife Park

Keepers at Cotswold Wildlife park are celebrating an autumnal baby boom and gave the newest additions nutritious to Halloween treats.

Capybara triplets Twig, Bracken and Bramble are the first litter produced by the park’s new Capybara breeding pair, Freya and Frankenstein - who was born on Halloween. 

They are the first Capybara pups born at the park in six years. Capybaras are the world's largest rodent species, and Swindonian zoologist Desmond Morris perfectly described them as “...a cross between a Guinea-pig and a Hippopotamus."

A Giant Anteater pup named Anthony is the third breeding success for parents Zorro and Zeta since their arrival at the Burford collection in 2010. 

The tiny pup can be seen hitching a ride on his mother's back in their enclosure next to the Children's Farmyard. The Giant Anteater is considered to be the most threatened mammal of Central America and is feared extinct in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay.

The Dwarf Mongoose family, including their new pup, also curiously explored their treats.  

All pumpkins were grown by Jubilee Gardens, a local charity where adults who experience varying levels of learning disability grow all sorts of wonderful produce. 

For the fourth year running, students from the charity treated the park's residents, including Giant Tortoises George, Sheldon and Darwin, to pumpkin enrichments. 

Assistant Animal Manager Chris Kibbey, said: "This time of year is a good opportunity to provide some seasonal enrichment for some of our animals and pumpkins are great.

"They can be hollowed out, carved with a scary (or smiley) face and some of the animal’s favourite treats hidden inside. 

"This year, our new arrivals tucked into their special Halloween-themed enrichments. Giant Anteater Zeta enjoyed using her long sticky tongue to slurp up mealworms in the pumpkin, with her newborn pup Anthony riding on her back. 

"The new Capybara family enjoyed their first taste of pumpkin. Even our new Oxford Sandy and Black piglets Lenny and Benny couldn’t resist the temptation and made light work of their pumpkin filled with their favourite food treats. 

"Enrichment is an important part of our daily husbandry provision for most of our species. We provide enrichment to promote and encourage natural behaviours, and help to keep our animals mentally and physically stimulated."