Chuseok Zoo Feast

[Anchor Lead]

With only a week to go until Chuseok, even the animals in a zoo are getting ready for Korea's greatest traditional holiday in their special way. Let’s find out more.

[Pkg]

Animal caretakers are hard at work. Using apples, oranges, chestnuts and carrots... the zookeepers are making a gujeolpan, a dish of nine treats, for a three year-old panda that is celebrating its first Chuseok holiday since arriving from China earlier this year. The panda pokes at the food as if to decide which one to eat first. It finally decides on "wotou," a healthy snack made with assorted mashed grains. Visitors are enthralled by this rare scene.

[Soundbite] Oh Na-rae(Zoo Visitor) : "The panda kept sleeping the last time we were here and my kids were disappointed. But today the animal is really active. I wondered what was happening."

[Soundbite] "Hi five! Great, good job."

Sharing treats helps to strengthen the emotional bond between the caretakers and animals.

[Soundbite] Lim Ho-cheol(Zookeeper) : "In general they eat food separately, but they ate together when the food was arranged in one place to bring them together."

Even the animals at the zoo enjoyed generous party treats and had a great time ahead of the Chuseok holiday.