Vienna Zoo Residents Celebrate International World Watermelon Day

The video shows animals from an Austrian zoo celebrating International Watermelon Day by savouring the delicious summer fruit with their buddies.

Residents from the Tiergarten Schonbrunn Zoo in Austria’s capital Vienna enjoyed the flavorful taste of the vine-like flowering plant originating from southern Africa as they celebrated International Watermelon Day on Tuesday, 3rd August.

According to various online sources, it is believed that watermelon cultivation began in the Nile Valley as early as the second millennium B.C., whilst wild watermelon seeds were even found in Pharaoh tombs including the one of King Tutankhamun.

Credit: Tiergarten Schonbrunn/Newsflash

From Africa, the sweet and juicy fruit spread into Mediterranean countries and other parts of Europe, whilst its cultivation became common in China and the rest of Asia by the end of the ninth century.

Capybaras Lucy and Leopold (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) which are native to South America and represent the largest living rodents on Earth, were particularly excited to try the watermelon, which zoo keepers placed in their enclosure.

Zoo Manager Alexander Keller said: “Capybaras mainly eat hay and grass. Vegetables and pellets are also on their menu. Fruit is a rare delicacy – like chocolate for us. The watermelons were devoured in no time. No wonder, they are very sweet and refreshing.”

Meanwhile, Lucy and Leopold’s buddies from the South American Park, especially the lowland tapirs and rheas, were also able to taste the juicy and sweet watermelon flesh.

According to experts, since watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) consists of 92 percent water, it is very beneficial for animals in the summer heat.

Additionally, polar bears Finja and her mother Nora were able to also utilize watermelons as toys, as they started playing with them as soon as zoo keeper Alessa Esau threw them into their water basin.

Esau said: “Finja is still such a water rat as she was from an early age. And Nora anyway. They play with the watermelons as if they are balls and then they eat them.”

Since polar bears are omnivores, their diet mostly consists of meat, fish, whilst zookeepers make sure to also include vegetables and fruits on their menu.

The zoo reported that Finja now weighs almost 200 kilogrammes (440 lbs), which is only around 30 kilogrammes (66 lbs) less than her mother Nora.

As the two of them are almost the same size, they enjoy measuring their strength in playful combat.

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is listed as “Vulnerable” International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species with not more than 31,000 individuals left worldwide because of habitat loss caused by climate change.


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: James King, Agency:  Newsflash

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