Wild Place Project appeals for aftershave for animals

Cheetahs "love to roll about in new scents", animal manager Will Walker said

A wildlife park is asking for donations of unwanted perfume or aftershave for its animals' Christmas stockings.

Will Walker, animal manager at the Wild Place Project in Bristol, said "the stronger the better" - with sweet scents top of their Christmas list.

Cheetahs Jake, Oscar and Brooke were caught on camera at the park frolicking in their favourite perfume of the moment - PS Love Noir by Primark.

Mr Walker said the bears, meerkats and lynxes love perfume scents too.

The smells can play an important part in enriching the environment for the animals to give them new ways to express their natural behaviours, the animal aficionado said.

"We want to enrich their lives so we use scents like perfume, herbs and spices to occupy them," Mr Walker said.

"It's mostly the carnivores who love to roll about in new scents as they use smell to determine whose territory it is and a way of communicating.

"They like to roll about in the scent to cover it up with their own smell from their scent glands all over their bodies as a way of marking the territory as their own."

He urged anyone who has any unwanted perfume or aftershave to drop it into guest information and the park will "put them to good use".

"The perfumes they go crazy for are the really strong ones with sweet or spicy smells," said Mr Walker.

"If you have any unwanted perfumes or aftershaves for Christmas, or a half empty bottle at home, we'd gladly take them as a treat for the animals."