Sydney zoo animals enjoy festive treats

Fishy smelling ice, sugar ants and an array of foliage are far from traditional Christmas gifts.

But they're exactly what the residents of Sydney's Taronga Zoo wanted.

Christmas came early this week for the zoo's giraffes, lion pride, red-necked pademelons, quokkas and echidnas, who all enjoyed a festive treat.

Lions Ato and Maya and their five, four-month-old cubs saw 'snow' for the first time, thanks to a tonne of fishy-smelling ice donated by the Sydney Fish Markets.

Meanwhile, the giraffes wasted no time ripping into a hand-made wreath crafted by keepers from their favourite foods - such as African Olive leaf and apples that replicated Christmas baubles.

Resident echidnas Pitpa, Leroy and Fin quickly tucked into the sugar ants peppering their wreaths, but the quokkas and red-necked pademelons took a bit more encouragement to get into the Christmas spirit.