Visitors to a zoo in northern China's Henan province got the zoo visit of a lifetime – by harvesting mussels fresh from an animal enclosure.

Zoo workers in the zoo at Zhengzhou were busy draining water out of a man-made lake when visitors noticed that there was an abundance of mussels in the lake's exposed bottom, reports Dahe.cn. It so happened that while the workers were busy carrying out maintenance and upgrade projects, some visitors found something to busy themselves with as well.

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The visitors rolled up their sleeves and trousers, then went into the mud. It didn't take long before the visitors found themselves in the muddy lake bottom, scrounging for fresh mussels.

Moments later, these visitors were joined by hundreds of people, which included families.

Zoo staff members said they tried to stop the visitors from taking the mussels as these might be unsafe for consumption. However, the advice was just ignored by the happy harvesters.

“These mussels are alive,” a woman who was digging for mussels said. “We dig them up not to eat, but to let our children experience the pleasure of digging mussels.”

Her family left carrying a sack full of mussels. She said that she plans to put the live mussels in the water so that her children can watch them at home.

Mussel Goodness

The mussels that grew in the zoo's man-made lake are larger than those generally found in food markets, because they are able to grow without being disturbed for a long time. The zoo's mussels reportedly reach the size of a palm.

Chinese cuisine considers mussels to be a delicacy. They can be cooked in various ways, and are usually included in soups and fried dishes.

Tagszoo, Mussels, shellfish, soup, abalone, Zhengzhou