Oh my gourd: Denver's elephants are stomping pumpkins again — for science

While everyone else carves pumpkins, the elephants at Denver Zoo turn them into pulp — each in his own style. At Friday's annual Squish the Squash event, some elephants were 'instant stompers', foot down and done; others knelt and used their tusks to crack the giant donated pumpkins open, curator Maura Davis explained. It looks like pure fun, and it is — but it's also enrichment, the zoo's weekly programme of puzzles and challenges designed to keep elephants stretching, foraging and problem-solving. Play, with a lesson plan.