29 November 2021

Employees from Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, took a day out of the office to help keepers at London Zoo create festive treats for animals.  

A member of the Bloomberg team looking at a huge cardboard box the Bloomberg team turned into a festive treat for Komodo dragon, Ganas

The corporate volunteers became Santa’s helpers for the day and got stuck in making festive enrichment for some of the zoo’s 20,000 animals, ahead of Giving Tuesday (30 November).  

ZSL corporate member, Bloomberg, support ZSL through horticultural volunteering and support for the Sense-sational Festival, which helps young people with learning disabilities and their families to enjoy the zoo. This year, over 170 Bloomberg employees have dedicated over 750 hours to support the Zoo, and as the season of goodwill approaches, the team got hands on: from making a huge cardboard box into a festive treat for the Zoo’s 54kg Komodo dragon, Ganas, to prepping gifts for the red river hogs, the team were hard at work all day. 

To encourage Ganas the dragon to use his razor-sharp teeth and tremendous strength to eat his food, the volunteers wrapped a huge cardboard box in recycled Christmas wrapping paper before keepers filled the box with a meaty treat– Ganas seemed delighted with his gift, tearing into it and devouring the contents.  

Gifts were carefully created for the Zoo’s team of red river hogs who were treated to individually painted papier mache Christmas baubles filled with sunflower seeds.  

Red river hog with festive treats at London Zoo

ZSL team leader, Gemma Metcalf said: “Our seven red river hogs used their excellent sense of smell to sniff out their lunchtime snacks, using their phenomenal jaw strength to crush the papier mache baubles open and retrieve their delicious food. 

“Crafting items just like the papier mache baubles is a terrific way to encourage the red river hogs to use their astonishing sense of smell and strength, with a festive twist.” 

ZSL’s head of corporate partnerships, Sandra Crewe said; “Bloomberg's commitment to ZSL shows their dedication to sustainability, conservation and education. This corporate partnership allows their employees the opportunity to volunteer at London Zoo, connect with wildlife and a cause they care about. In turn, they are also supporting ZSL’s work across the world and in our two Zoos, London and Whipsnade Zoos.” 

Caroline Rowley, who leads Bloomberg’s Corporate Philanthropy in the UK said; “Giving back and support for our communities is key to Bloomberg. We're proud to support London Zoo's vital conservation work and provide unique opportunities for employees to engage with their incredible wildlife." 

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