Motion race at Givskud Zoo raises money for threatened animals

Some 400 runners and walkers took part in an early Sunday morning race around Givskud Zoo, with proceeds going to projects supporting nature and threatened animals worldwide, DR reported.

The participants ran and walked between animal enclosures, cages and safari areas before the zoo opened. They also passed through the park’s dinosaur area.

Animals including spectacled bears, Barbary macaques and blue-throated macaws watched the event. Zoo director Rasmus Sebastian Nielsen said the animals were used to seeing visitors, with almost 450,000 people visiting each year.

Predators can be triggered when runners move quickly past them because this can activate their hunting instincts. However, Nielsen said the zoo’s fences and barriers kept the animals safe, while the lions also got some exercise.

Entry fees went to Givskud Zoo’s nature fund, which supports 23 projects around the world. The projects help animals in Denmark and elsewhere, including spectacled bears in Peru and macaques on Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Tickets for the routes, which covered 3.5 or 5 kilometres and passed lions, giraffes and rhinoceroses, sold out in less than a day.