This is the moment a group of tigers went in for the kill today after zoo staff fed them – a FAKE llama.
Adult Sumatran tiger Banda and her 18-month old cubs Aryo and Surya tore the model animal to shreds at Paignton Zoo in Devon.
Staff spent hours making a likeness of the South American mammal out of papier mache, cardboard and off-cuts of real llama fleece.
But it was taken apart in seconds by the fierce tigers after being placed in the enclosure to create ”environmental enrichment”.
Big cat keeper Lucy Manning said a crowd of excited visitors gathered to watch the tigers attack the llama.
She said: ”The model is great environmental enrichment for our Sumatran tigers and a bit of fun for our visitors.
”The look of this unusual object in the tigers’ paddock and the unfamiliar smell of the fleece really got the animals interested.
”It took me about four hours to complete the model and it was all over in a matter of minutes, but it was totally worth it.”
Zoos use environmental enrichment to encourage natural feeding and foraging behaviour, stimulate mental and physical activity and provoke curiosity using unusual objects and situations.
Enrichment can range from puzzle feeders and wind chimes to unusual scents and cardboard boxes with food hidden inside.
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