The Oregon Zoo’s Asian elephants kicked off the Halloween season Thursday morning with the 25th annual Squishing of the Squash event. The tradition dates back to 1999, when farmers often offered their overstock pumpkins for use in the zoo’s animal enrichment efforts, according to a news release from the Oregon Zoo. “We’ll be giving our elephant family some extra-large pumpkins to stomp on and chomp on,” Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s Asian elephant area, stated in the release. “First they destroy them, then they enjoy them.” Video courtesy of the OregonZoo #Portland #OregonZoo #Pumpkins #Elephants #SquishingOfTheSquash