'Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' inspires feast for Brookfield Zoo's four-legged friends
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As people plan to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, a few animals at the Brookfield Zoo got the party started early with a feast inspired by a cartoon classic.
Ring-tailed lemurs ate a sweet and savory meal as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the popular "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," which aired for the first time on CBS in 1973.
In the cartoon, Charlie Brown's pal Peppermint Patty is alone and wants to join him for the holiday. She brings along their friends and they make a different kind of holiday meal.
The Brookfield Zoo lemurs celebrated the holiday in much the same way.
According to the zoo, its animal care staff "replicated the iconic meal while still keeping it nutritious." The lemurs, named Ramses and Moses, are both 16 years old.
They ate air-popped popcorn with no salt or butter and toast, made of primate biscuits and some honey.
There were jelly beans made with strawberry and lime sugar-free gelatin in coffee bean molds. Also, there were "pretzel sticks made of primate biscuits, and apple juice in cups featuring the zigzag pattern on the cartoon character's shirt," according to the zoo.
No Thanksgiving meal would be complete without pumpkin pie and the lemurs had their own version. The dessert was also made with a primate biscuit crust, with mashed sweet potatoes, and almonds, along with puffed rice cereal.
In case you were curious, the ice cream desserts were made of paper.
The Brookfield Zoo will be open on Thursday and admission is free on Thanksgiving Day, but there's still a parking fee.
