KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Halloween is wrapping up in East Tennessee, but fun is just beginning for a pair of elephants at Zoo Knoxville.
Leaders with the zoo announced that on Saturday, elephants Edie and Tonka smashed Dollywood pumpkins weighing between 700 lbs. and 2,000 lbs.
The pumpkins were grown by the Edwards family from Tazewell, Virginia, who wanted to grow their own giant pumpkins for Dollywood's Harvest Festival. The park then donated the pumpkins as enrichment for animals at Zoo Knoxville.
"This gives us the rare opportunity to give a 2,000 lbs. pumpkin to a 15,000 lbs. African elephant,” says Phil Colclough in a statement, Director of Animal Care at Zoo Knoxville. “It’s pretty exciting to partner with the Edwards family and Dollywood to share this unique form of enrichment with our animals.”