Elephants are huge yet so cute creatures.
Asian elephants, in particular, weigh between 6,000 to 13,000 pounds and are 7-10 feet high at the shoulder. And, although smaller than their African relatives, they are among the largest creatures that live on land.
Elephants mainly eat grasses, leaves, shrubs, fruits, and roots.
Their diet primarily depends on their habitat and the season, but these are the five categories their food can be found under.
Speaking of fruit, one of their favorite fruit, especially during the fall season, is pumpkin.
Elephants love eating this delicious treat, and they seriously can’t get enough of them. You see, elephants spend about 16 hours per day eating.
Their food is about 6% of their weight every day, and they can walk for miles to find something to munch on.
But, when it comes to pumpkins- oh, do they love them!
The staff at Oregon Zoo know how obsessed the Asian elephants they host are, and that’s why they have been organizing the Squishing of the Squash event every year over the last 24 years.
This year, the Asian elephant family they have at the zoo smashed the pumpkins as if they were cake.
“We gave our elephant family some extra-large pumpkins to stomp on and chomp on,” said Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s Asian elephant area. “First they destroyed them, then they enjoyed them.”
In 2020, the squash smashing was captured on video, which was then uploaded on YouTube by the Oregon Zoo for everyone to enjoy.
As you can see in the video, although these are giant pumpkins, they look tiny next to these huge animals.
The elephants first observe them, and then they start smashing them one by one as if they were soft cake slices.
One after the other, soon all the pumpkins turn into crumbles and the elephant family starts enjoying them. What a Halloween treat they received!
And, for those who are wondering, these pumpkins weigh about 1,200 lbs, which is really impressive.
The video has gone viral with more than 3 million views, and almost 2,5k comments.
The Internet has just loved how these gigantic creatures gently smash the pumpkins, while many also commented about how much of a treat these pumpkins seem to be for these animals.
“Pumpkin season for Elephants is equivalent to humans finding a roll of bubble wrap that no one has popped any bubbles on,” someone wrote, and this comment couldn’t be more spot-on!
Many people also commented about the fact that the elephants are not fighting for food, they just take turns squashing pumpkins, and they all get to share what they have in front of them.
This actually applies to elephants in general. Studies have indicated that elephants cooperate to get food, and they don’t fight over food unless it is not enough for everyone.
These animals are, indeed, amazing!
Watch the special elephant event in the video below.
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