Does your Zoo Accept Edible Plant Donations?

We pruned our three citrus trees. It's a pain in the neck but a welcome treat for our local giraffes.

Jocelyn and Ed from the Sacramento Zoo picked up our lemon and orange branches despite the three-inch thorns. "Our giraffes are approved for citrus," they said.

It might surprise you that exotic beasts may be happy to chomp down your yard waste. Our lemon, blood orange, and navel orange trees shoot out diabolical ten-foot branches (with three-inch thorns!) twice a year. Knowing they provide a nutritious variety for the giraffes at the Sacramento Zoo makes the chore worth a little bloodletting.

My pruning chores inspired me to learn more about the Masai Giraffe our citrus branches will feed.

If your zoo accepts edible plant donations, you'll feed giraffes, lemurs, chimps, and birds instead of waste at the landfill. You'll need to check with your local zoo. Ours even sent a truck and picked up the branches.

Update: Jocelyn reports that "Glory," a sassy but sweet 4-year-old seen here chomping our branches, "ate well around the thorns using her cool prehensile tongue!"   Photo: Keeper Mike (Thank you!)