Lions given 'catnip' Christmas trees


Christmas trees are being recycled as playthings for the lions at a zoo in Cambridgeshire.
The discarded trees are 'like catnip' to the animals, said Kim Simmons, director of Linton Zoological Gardens.

Families bring their unwanted trees to the zoo so the lions can play with them and chew them, while others are used in the zoo's bio-burner to provide additional heating for the buildings.

People have been delivering individual trees and a number of nurseries have donated unsold ones.  The catnip plant, sometimes known as catmint, can cause euphoric behaviour in many cats.  'We've already had quite a few trees coming in which are giving the lions hours of fun', Miss Simmons said.