There was something very special on the menu today for the Asian elephants in Dierenrijk in Mierlo. In addition to the normal food, such as carrots and hay, there were also Christmas trees on Friday evening. Scattered throughout the accommodation, the attractive snack was ready to be eaten.
While the elephants are outside eager to get in, zookeeper Stijn Geurts is ready to let them in. “They just saw me passing by with the Christmas trees, so they’re looking forward to it.”
“You never know what they’re going to do with the Christmas trees.”
And there is no lie in Stijn’s statement. It’s a struggle for the elephants, who want to get inside. “It’s always an impressive moment when they come in. You never know what they are going to do with the Christmas trees you have set up.”
The Christmas trees are mainly intended as a tasty snack. “They do not encounter Christmas trees in the wild, because they are Asian elephants and they do not grow in their habitat. Although they like them.”
The elephants do not eat the trees completely, but they do strip the trunk. “The bark is also completely removed. They do not like branches larger than about 15 cm, but they do like the needles. We return it completely bald.”
“It’s very nice to see.”
The elephants also use the Christmas trees as toys. “Then they pick up a Christmas tree with the trunk and throw the tree into the air. But if it ends up in the water, they can no longer reach it.”
On the side, visitor Teun van den Heuvel is watching with his mother. “It’s very nice to see. They make a very loud noise and pull the trees out of the ground,” he says with a surprised face. “I just don’t know why they get to eat those trees.”
“We received dozens of Christmas trees from local growers who couldn’t get rid of them,” says zookeeper Stijn. “We try to make it as varied as possible for the elephants. That keeps them busy.”
