ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — It’s pumpkin playtime this weekend at the North Carolina Zoo.  

Many of the animals will participate in Pumpkin Palooza and guests will be entertained by all the antics.

Zookeepers will place pumpkins all around their habitats for the animals to eat or play with. The baboons got their pumpkins earlier this week and had a whole lot of fun with them.

But these pumpkins provide more than just play time, zookeepers say they also provide important stimulation for the animals’ mental health.

Shannon Smith shows us in this week’s Zoo Files.