The striking squirrel monkeys at Drusillas Park have enjoyed their annual pancake treat today, as keepers served up a tasty feast of customary fare to mark the Shrove Tuesday tradition.

This is the second year the twelve cheeky scamps have received the offering; the monkeys enjoyed the meal so much last time the zoo team decided to repeat the exercise and so far, the monkeys’ enthusiasm for pancakes shows no sign of dwindling.

Once again, they revelled in excitement as they investigated the unusual offering. Leaving nothing to squirrel away for later, the platter was cleared in a jiffy proving that this was one pancake treat that certainly did not fall flat!

Tossing aside the conventional recipe, the savoury style crepes were created from a mix known as primate jelly. This is a special dietary product, which is a high energy and high protein food. Besides offering a tasty treat, it also contains many of the daily nutritional requirements needed to keep the monkeys fit and healthy.

The pancakes were served to the hungry troop in a frying pan by Head Keeper, Mark Kenward, adding a peppering of raisins as a slight variation to the dish. Delivering the animals’ meals in imaginative and unusual ways is part of the zoo’s daily enrichment programme. This ensures they receive a varied and diverse diet, as well as encouraging them to think and work for their food as they would in the wild.

Plus next year this Shrove Tuesday tradition is likely to be enjoyed by even more squirrel monkeys, as a brand new breeding group swing into the Park. The group of eight animals will be travelling from a zoo in Germany to live on Squirrel Monkey Island and are expected to arrive later this year.

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Attached Photos: Drusillas squirrel monkeys enjoy a pancake treat

For more information please contact:

Claire Peters

Head of Public Relations

Drusillas Park

01323 874112

claire.peters@drusillas.co.uk

About Drusillas Park

Drusillas Park in Alfriston, East Sussex is a small zoo where you can get nose to nose with nature. There are over 100 animal species in naturalistic environments including meerkats, penguins, monkeys, otters, bats, snakes and lemurs. For more information visit www.drusillas.co.uk

Directions – Drusillas (postcode BN26 5QS) is situated just off the A27 at Alfriston, approximately 7 miles from Eastbourne and 15 miles from Brighton.