Oakland Zoo to Auction Off Paintings Created Entirely by Its Animals—You Have to See What They Made!

Giraffes, monkeys, lemurs and more furry friends got involved

By Lily Harrison Sep 11, 2015 10:53 PMTags
Oakland Zoo Animal Painting AuctionOakland Zoo

Elephants, lemurs and monkeys, oh my!

The Oakland Zoo is keeping up with their tradition of auctioning off artwork created entirely by their animals.

This year, the aforementioned furry friends are joined by a Nigerian dwarf goat, meerkats, a cockroach (yes, seriously) and many more animals who put their artistic side on display for the world to see.

All of the animals were involved in painting sessions monitored by zoo keepers (Editor's note: How much fun does that sound?!) who kept their highly motivated with treats all throughout, the zoo's spokeswoman Nicky Mora explained to NBC News.

Oakland Zoo

Each animal was given a blank canvas and several paints to work with, and it's safe to say that every single one of their creations is a masterpiece.

Oakland Zoo

Donna, the African elephant, painstakingly painted brushstroke by brushstroke with the help of her lengthy trunks to create quite an original piece of art, while Andy, the Madagascar hissing cockroach, got down and dirty with the purple, green and yellow paint.

Oakland Zoo

"It was fun for them because they got treats for participating," Mora shared when asked if any of the animals were forced to take part in the annual auction event.

Oakland Zoo

And it should be noted that the paint used in the zoo's artwork is entirely non-toxic, just in case one of the animals accidentally got a little too close to their creations.

Oakland Zoo

The Oakland Zoo raised an impressive $10,000 last year when they auctioned off 12 paintings. Let's hope they have the same success this time around!