Houston Zoo animals get Easter treat

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Kids flooded the Houston Zoo for an Easter egg hunt, except this time it wasn't the kids searching for the colorful eggs - it was the animals of the zoo.

It was certainly a Good Friday for the orangutans as they snatched up their Easter eggs loaded with treats inside.

"We had eggs of all sizes with their favorite treats," said Jackie Wallace of the Houston Zoo. "So for the lions it was meat, for the orangutans, it was vegetables."

Eggs were hidden for animals of all sizes, from the antelope ground squirrel to the elephants.

Zookeepers said life in the habitats can become predictable and taking advantage of holiday traditions gives the animals a chance for enrichment and stimulation.

"Enrichment is to encourage their natural behaviors that they would have in the wild, keep them guessing, keep them surprised, keep things interesting," said zookeeper Lacey Penning. "So a lot of our enrichment includes foraging so that's something the animals will be doing in the wild."

For families, the experience was a wonderful lead-in to the weekend.