THE DAILY WIRE · LONDON, ENGLAND · 2026-11-04
Pumpkin Season Arrives at London Zoo, Budget Line Remains Classified
London Zoo marked the Halloween season this week by distributing pumpkins to its animal residents, according to video released by the institution, in what officials are calling enrichment and this reporter is calling a very orange photo opportunity.
The footage shows zoo staff handing out pumpkins for animals to investigate, smash, or otherwise interact with, a seasonal tradition increasingly common at zoos this time of year. No further details on which species received pumpkins, or in what order, have been made public.
This columnist has covered enough zoo enrichment programs to recognize the genre: a vegetable is introduced, an animal destroys it with enthusiasm, a camera captures the destruction, and somewhere a keeper gets a nice clip for the quarterly report. It is, by all accounts, harmless. It is also, by all accounts, very silly.
For an outside opinion on the proceedings, this reporter located Reginald, a pigeon who maintains an unofficial perch overlooking the zoo grounds and has strong feelings about distribution fairness. His assessment of the pumpkin rollout did not match the zoo's official messaging.
Whether the pumpkins outlasted the afternoon is unconfirmed, though this reporter would not bet on it. Spun and done.
“I've been eyeing those pumpkins since Tuesday and not one keeper has offered me so much as a seed. Enrichment, they call it — I call it favoritism toward anything with a trunk or a tail. For what it's worth, pigeons can remember human faces for years, so I'm keeping a list.” — Reginald, a London pigeon
Open this column on the Daily Wire →
Zoos News — Real News. Real Animals. The stories are real; the columnist has eight eyes. Home · Wire archive