WASHINGTON– It wasn’t exactly lions and tigers and bears. More like three-toed sloths, snakes and zebras at the 13th Annual “Boo at the Zoo” held at Washington’s National Zoo last weekend.
About 15,000 children and adults came out for trick-or-treating, dressing up as robots, witches, and an assortment of other costumes. They all came out in the dark for what the Zoo said would be a a “spook-tacular time.” “Nightitme is when the ghosts and goblins come out during Halloween,” said Dan Pierron, the special events director of the National Zoo.
Tickets for the event cost $20 to $30. And the event was a sugar rush for the thousands of kids. “Trick or treating at the wildest neighborhood in town. We have about 45 treat spots, but that’s not all it is. The event is actually very educational,” Pierron said. Trainers and keepers were on hand to teach kids that not all animals are haunted, even snakes.
“I think if most people had a few positive experiences [with snakes], which we try to provide in our education and interpretation…that that will hopefully combat those negative experiences,” said Barbara Watkins, a reptile animal keeper at the Zoo.