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IN PHOTOS: Animals at Berlin Zoo get a belated Christmas present

Paul Krantz
Paul Krantz - paul.krantz@thelocal.com
IN PHOTOS: Animals at Berlin Zoo get a belated Christmas present
An elephant plays with a Christmas tree in its enclosure at the Zoologischer Garten zoo in Berlin on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Germany's Christmas tree farms are always left with a few unsold trees at the end of the season. In Berlin, they can donate them to the elephants.

Some of the Christmas trees that didn't find a home around Berlin this season were donated to Berlin's Zoologischer Garten on Friday as part of an interesting annual tradition.

The elephants in particular seemed to really appreciate receiving their belated stocking stuffers - they were seen eating the greens, after tearing at the trees with their trunks and tossing them around for a while.

For the animals' safety, the zoo only accepts unsold trees directly from select vendors. It can't accept trees from the public, which could potentially contain chemicals or hidden decorations.

a pair of pachyderms
A pair of pachyderms take their first feels of a 'Christmas' fir tree at Zoologischer Garden. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

Florian Sicks, the mammal curator at Zoologischer Garten told AP that the trees "don’t just serve as food" but also offer enrichment.

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While some animals will eat all of the green off of the trees, others are happy to play with them and scratch themselves with them.

elephant plays with a tree
An elephant plays with a Christmas tree in its enclosure. Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

The elephants were not the only ones to benefit from the tree donations this year. 

For the giraffes, a tree was strung up at an appropriate height for them to take a nibble. 

Giraffes get a tree

At Zoologischer Garden, Christmas trees were also fed to giraffes. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

Likewise, the reindeer also got to try the delicious fir trees - although viewers said they didn't seem quite as enthusiastic about the evergreen shrubbery.

reindeer with trees

Christmas trees are fed to reindeer. When selecting the trees, care is taken to ensure that they are unsprayed. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

Of course, African elephants and giraffes would never come across the types of pine trees or firs that are commonly used for Christmas trees in Europe.

But it seems that given the chance to try, they don't mind the taste.

elephant munches tree

An elephant munches on a tree branch, eating the greens. Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

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