It's fall at the Oregon Zoo; Watch the elephants smash some pumpkins

Family-friendly fall fun isn't hard to find. Just give some elephants a bunch of giant pumpkins – and then give them free rein to destroy them.

The Oregon Zoo's Asian elephants continued a 26-year-old tradition Thursday morning at the annual Squash Squishing. As the name suggests, the event invited guests to gleefully watch as the large mammals stomped, smashed, and then slurped up pumpkins weighing up to 809 pounds.

The pumpkin squeezing will be followed by the zoo's annual Howloween event, held on the weekends of October 19-20 and 26-27. It's an opportunity for children to show off their Halloween costumes while taking part in a whole range of wildlife-related talks and activities.

This year's giant pumpkins were provided by Pacific Giant Plant Growers member Larry Nelson and his daughter Amanda Gilmour.

The Oregon Zoo's resident elephants crushed their first pumpkin in 1999, when Hoffman's Dairy Garden of Canby gave them an award-winning pumpkin weighing 828 pounds. This inspired farmers to donate their excess pumpkins to the zoo.

And don’t worry – the pumpkins aren’t just a treat. The smashing is actually part of the zoo's efforts to enrich the animals and encourage the animals to interact with stimulating objects and environments. The sea otters play basketball and the elephants crush pumpkins.

— Veronica Nocera covers life and culture. You can reach them at [email protected]503-221-8111 or @vernocera