Boo! At the Zoo(s)

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We don’t really think Kelley, the L.A. Zoo’s silverback gorilla, above, wants to shout ‘Boo!’ -- although his carrot-hoarding can be a bit scary. But he and several of his fellow Los Angeles Zoo inhabitants will get pumpkin treats this weekend as part of the zoo’s annual Boo at the Zoo event.

The pumpkin ‘stomp ‘n chomp’ kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. American black bears get their giant squashes at 11 a.m., Sumatran tigers are fed at 11:15a.m., and hippos at 11:30am. (Yes, we know how to spell ‘hippopotamus.’) Gorillas will be fed at 12:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., the rare Chacoan peccaries (they look like furry little pigs) get their pumpkins. The river otters get a chance to chow down at 2:30pm.

In addition, there will be face painting, pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating through a ‘ghostly graveyard’ to learn about extinct animals.

The events run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the L.A. Zoo. Wear a costume and receive a dollar off admission.

And if you’re closer to the Santa Ana Zoo, you can check out another Boo at the Zoo Halloween Festival. It runs 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday and promises a ‘Merry not Scary’ zoo atmosphere. But to entice kids, whose whole reason for celebrating Halloween is to be scared, the zoo is offering a ‘Teen Scream’ haunted house.

We’re not sure what part animals will play in all this, but the zoo did say something about hairy spiders and slimy snakes.

-- Carla Hall