Giant Elephant Crushes 500-Pound Pumpkin in Halloween Smash

An Asian elephant at the Oregon Zoo stomped a 500-pound pumpkin flat in the zoo’s 28th annual Squishing of the Squash, a Halloween tradition dating back more than a quarter of a century.

Footage released by the Oregon Zoo shows 18-year-old Samudra taking on the giant pumpkin, which keepers had stuffed with lettuce, apples and sweet potatoes, on October 17.

“This year, we decided to give Samudra the spotlight,” said Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s Asian elephant area. “It was one big elephant vs. one big pumpkin. No fuss, but definitely some muss.” Samudra outweighed the pumpkin by nearly 10,000 pounds. After the main event, his 20-month-old sister Tula-Tu was given a smaller pumpkin to play with.

The tradition began in 1999, when a local farm donated a prize-winning 828-pound pumpkin to the elephant family. This year’s pumpkin was provided by Larry Nelson of the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Club and his daughter, Amanda Gilmour. The zoo uses such treats as enrichment to keep its animals stimulated and active.