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Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo in Portland enjoyed smashing up giant pumpkins at the zoo’s annual Squishing of the Squash event on October 19.

“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,” he said in a statement.

The annual tradition began in 1999 when a local farm offered a prize-winning 828-pound pumpkin for the elephant family.

“Farmers often offered their overstock pumpkins for use in the zoo’s groundbreaking animal enrichment efforts,” the zoo said. Credit: Oregon Zoo via Storyful