ELEPHANTS at Whipsnade Zoo are having fun courtesy of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The service has donated two de-commissioned fire hoses for the elephants at the Bedfordshire zoo to play with.
The nine Asian elephants use the hoses in a number of ways including as feeding balls – which they kick along like footballs until all of the food comes out.
Warwickshire crew commander, Gary McMahon said: “It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to work in partnership with a zoo as a fire and rescue service, so when we got the call, we were more than happy to help.
“To see the hoses get a new lease of life in this way is great and we look forward to seeing the elephants having fun and making the most of their new toys.”
Zoo team leader Stefan Groeneveld said: “We are always looking for new ways to stimulate our elephants and bring out their natural behaviours like foraging for food, and fire hoses, which are made of incredibly strong material, are perfect to make feeding balls from. The whole herd will be thrilled to investigate their new toys.”