Two lumbering Asian elephants were let out of their enclosures Tuesday and discovered orange surprises placed around their home at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
As families and children watched, elephants Sujatha and Little Mac set their sights on the pumpkins left for them by zoo staff.
Each moved towards the pumpkins with concentration, wrapping their trunks around the smaller pumpkins before eating them and stomping on the larger vegetables with a satisfying thump that delighted the audience.
It was a little bit of a preview of what the public can see Thursday, when the zoo opens its doors to guests on Thanksgiving Day.
The zoo will be open on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and tickets will be sold until 2 p.m.
That’s when the elephants will again receive pumpkins as a treat, as will other zoo animals, including the western lowland gorillas, African lions, turkey vultures, slender-tailed meerkats, barnyard animals and others.
The zoo began doing the pumpkin smash seven years ago, and it’s been a hit with the public since.
It’s also used as enrichment for the animals to give them stimulation and exercise, said Sheri Horiszny, director of animal programs at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
“It’s grown every year,” she said.
In addition to the elephants, members of the public and media got to see smaller zoo residents enjoy a treat Tuesday.
Katniss and Peeta, the zoo’s Asian small-clawed otters, peeked out from hiding as the zoo’s animal nutritionist, Trent Barnhart, set down a pumpkin frozen with cranberries and small fish inside.
As soon as Barnhart left the enclosure, the curious otters peeked out, delighting the onlooking children as the otters stood on their hind legs to survey the scene before turning their attention to their treats.
Seeing children and adults enjoy the animals makes it all worth it for zoo staff.
“That’s why we’re here, to make connections between people and animals,” Horiszny said. “That’s a highlight.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
