Hungry giraffes tucked into branches of their favourite leafy treats hacked down by chainsaw-wielding zookeepers.

Staff at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, laid on branches of fresh beech, oak, willow, birch, ash, and maple all pruned from pristine Austrian Federal Forests.

Video footage of the special feeding time, filmed on May 14, shows the giraffes gobbling down the tasty shrubbery.

Experts said fresh greenery is very important for their health in an urban zoo and the variety adds more natural interest to their diet.

Zoo director StephanHering-Hagenbeck said in a statement: 'In their natural habitat, giraffes primarily eat leaves.

'It's not just the ingredients that are important. The animals wrap around the leaves with their long tongues and skillfully tear them off.

'This stimulates saliva flow and is important for their digestion.'

Austrian Federal Forests board member Andreas Gruber said: 'We are committed to climate-friendly forests and to promoting biodiversity on our land.

'This is what connects us to Schoenbrunn Zoo. It is, therefore, a pleasure for us to make some of our forests' diversity available to the zoo's animals as a meal.'

Gruber added that besides the giraffes other animals like elephants, rhinos, colobus monkeys, reindeer, and water buffalos all get to taste the fresh treats.