The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In! 🎃

Here at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, our staff have been getting their hands dirty (quite literally!) in a friendly competition to grow the biggest and best pumpkins of the year!

Throughout the summer, teams from across the Zoo have been nurturing their pumpkins with some rather… unusual fertilisers. From elephant and giraffe poo to rabbit droppings, mushroom compost, giraffe urine, and even used coffee grounds, each group has come up with their own creative recipe for success.

The idea sprouted earlier this year as a fun team-building challenge and to celebrate our commitment to sustainability. After all, nothing goes to waste here! Animal manure is regularly reused around the site to help grow everything from plants and trees to (in this case) pumpkins. Keepers and staff have been proudly showing off their progress over the past few months, with some impressive pumpkins emerging in all shapes and sizes. The competition reached its grand finale just in time for Pumpkinfest, our annual autumn celebration, where the winning pumpkin was weighed, measured, and admired by our staff.

This year’s winner was Africa Team, who had a giant pumpkin that weighed at 42 kilograms! Their secret ingredient was giraffe poo and urine!

This light-hearted challenge highlights one of the many ways we reuse and recycle natural resources at the zoo, turning waste into something wonderful. Plus, it’s safe to say our elephants, giraffes, and rabbits have all played a big part in the growing success! So, next time you visit Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, make sure to check out our home-grown pumpkins on display at the Farm Shop!