Christmas may be well and truly over for most but, for the tigers at Hamerton Zoo, the festivities are just beginning as they get the chance to play with a batch of donated Christmas trees.

When Bengal tigers Blizzard and Lady Belle arrived in their enclosure on Tuesday morning, they were greeted by the unusual sight of a pair of Christmas trees, with their breakfast skilfully hidden between the branches by keepers.

And curiosity quickly got the better of the pair, who have been residents at the park for more than 15 years, as they went in search of their food.

Keeper Amy Beardmore said that the tigers “got on well” and enjoyed playing with the trees.

She said: “It’s the scent of them that they are drawn too, it’s quite unusual and quite strange for them.

“Most of our animals really like the Christmas trees, we give them to all the primates, and the cheetahs as well, it’s something a bit different for them.”