MEERKATS at West Midlands Safari Park will soon be enjoying their favourite newspaper thanks to the Redditch Standard.
Park keepers at the famous wild animal attraction turned to the Standard when they looking for ways to keep the naturally curious creatures amused.
The idea they hit upon was to make papier maché balls with treats hidden inside and when they discovered we use non-toxic ink we were the natural choice for the Safari Park.
“We were looking for enrichment devices for the meerkats and contacted all the local newspaper groups and Bullivant Media, publishers of the Redditch Standard, were the only ones who got back to us who used non-toxic ink, which of course is vital for the well being of our meerkats,” said Safari Park spokeswoman Bethan Davis.
The Standard duly delivered half a van full of old newspapers and staff at the park, near Bewdley, are now busy making the papier maché balls packed with treats.
“We’ll fill them with things like fruit and vegetables or maybe meal worms to help recreate what they do in the wild, which is forage for food,” said Bethan.
As well as seeing the meerkats in action there are no end of attractions at West Midlands Safari Park for visitors to enjoy.
The park saw the birth of a baby rhinoceros in March while a litter of 14 African wild dogs was born recently plus it’s also the home of a baby elephant.
On top of that there’s a whole host of other attractions including lots of other animals, the theme park and ‘Land of the Living Dinosaurs’.
Call 01299 402114 for more details or visit www.wmsp.co.uk/ .
