Bats, otters and raccoons of Northumberland Zoo thriving on donated Christmas trees

Zoo otters, porcupines and raccoons have been keeping the Christmas spirit alive after receiving a large donation of trees.

As the festive season drew to a close, Alnwick Garden in Northumberland was faced with the predicament of what to do with the 150 Christmas trees it had accumulated.

The trees lined the walls of the garden during its annual Winter Light Trail. By early January, they were surplus to requirements.

Rather than wasting them, Craig Ellis from the garden's climate action programme took to the Internet where he discovered that pines provide excellent habitat and food for various small mammals.

Northumberland Zoo, just 10 miles away in Morpeth, was an obvious choice.

Within hours of the drop off, some of the zoo's cutest critters were happily scurrying among the trees.

Maxine Bradley from Northumberland Zoo said: "Christmas Trees make great enrichment for various species; they are particularly fragrant which some animals love, and they are tasty to animals like our tree porcupines.

"They also make great objects for keepers to hide food in, which makes feed time a bit more challenging."

"Once all of the excitement has worn off, we then chip these trees for bedding around planted areas as well as for fuel in our biomass boiler that heats our bat house," added Ms Bradley.

An Alnwick Gardens spokesperson added: "Knowing that we can all have small part in making a big difference is how we inducted this donation, and we are thrilled to have been able to help.

"A big thank you to Northumberland Zoo for these incredible pictures and we hope all the animals enjoy."

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