Gorillas, lemurs and squirrel monkeys cool off with rainbow-themed ice lollies to celebrate Pride at London Zoo
Refreshing fruit tea ice-lollies made for animals at London Zoo to help them keep cool in the heatwave have been given a rainbow twist this week – as we count down to our Zoo Nights Pride celebrations this Friday evening (30 June).
Keepers treated the conservation zoo’s troop of critically endangered Western lowland gorillas to a taste of the rainbow with a giant layered ice lolly flavoured with different fruit teas. Silverback Kiburi, who joined the conservation zoo last year as part of the breeding programme for the critically endangered species, wasted no time in tucking into the cabbage green layer of his ice lolly as the rest of the troop bathed in the summer sun.
Meanwhile London Zoo’s endangered ring-tailed lemurs licked and picked at their frozen heart-shaped treats, as the squirrel monkeys swung from tree to tree to retrieve the peas, sweetcorn and beetroot encased within their multi-coloured lollies.
As the sun goes down, join us after hours at London Zoo for an unmissable evening mixing wildlife and London city life. From 9 June - 28 July, the Zoo will open from 6pm - 10pm every Friday, just for adults.
London Zoo’s Events Manager Anthony Spencer said: “We’ll all be celebrating Pride at Zoo Nights this Friday, but in the meantime the primates have enjoyed cooling off in the summer heat with rainbow ice-lollies, make by zookeepers to celebrate this important month.
“We’re excited to have the amazing Cheryl Hole hosting our Pride event, which will celebrate influential LGBTQIA+ figures within science and conservation, while revealing surprising facts about LGBTQIA+ behaviours in nature."
This Friday’s Pride Takeover at Zoo Nights, will be hosted by the RuPaul's Drag Race UK superstar: visitors to our adult-only evening event can get involved in a whole host of fabulous pride-themed activities - from designing your own animal 'drag mascot', to pride quizzes, delicious street food and inspiration from more than 14,000 animals. All proceeds raised supports ZSL’s vital science and conservation work across the globe.
Spaces are limited and selling out fast!
