By Elizabeth Hunter
A lion has been photographed playing with Christmas gifts in his zoo enclosure.
Jayendra, the Asiatic lion, was gifted several boxes, sprayed with a catnip-like perfume to encourage him to play.
The lion, nicknamed Jay by staff, was spotted investigating the gifts, before smelling and pawing at them.
Staff said the presents doubled as birthday gifts – with Jay turning 15 years old on 23 December.
A representative from Edinburgh Zoo said: “It was perfume that was sprayed into the boxes for enrichment – this stimulates their olfactory senses, promoting natural behaviours like sniffing, rubbing, and rolling.
“This scent-based olfactory enrichment encourages exploration and mimics environmental complexities for captive big cats.”
There are thought to be just 6,000 to 7,000 Asiatic lions left in the wild – as the species faces threats from habitat loss and poaching.
