TACOMA, Wash. — Now that Halloween has come and gone, many families are getting ready to throw away pumpkins, but there are a few ways to make sure that the fall fruit does not go to waste.
Wildlife outside of your home may already have its eyes on your jack-o-lanterns, just make sure pumpkins are not rotting and to remove any wax or candle residue so that animals can enjoy them.
Squirrels and birds like the pumpkin seeds, while other small mammals go after the fruit.
According to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Biologist Sara Mattison, many zoo animals also enjoy pumpkins, and it's actually good for their health.
Gonzo, a tamandua who resides at the Tacoma zoo, gave KING 5 viewers a little treat Monday morning by taking bites out of a pumpkin buffet.
"It keeps his body healthy, it keeps his brain healthy," said Mattison.
"[It] helps with physical health, too, so you can see how he’s ripping and tearing. He’s building up those muscles. It’s a little like CrossFit workout for him," Mattison said.
Each year, zoo staff treat the wildlife with pumpkins leftover from their fall events. It also adds to something the staff does for the animals called "enrichment."
"Enrichment is anything we do to increase the mental or physical activity of the animals in our care, and we do that because mental health is just as much a part of taking good care of these animals as physical health," Mattison said.
Although Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is not accepting pumpkin donations as they already have so much, there are many creative uses for pumpkins that the wild trick-or-treaters living outside of your home will appreciate.