For millions of kids, Halloween is a time to wear wacky costumes and gobble up sweets. But for zoo animals around the world, it's a chance to pig out on pumpkins.
Zoos in cities including Seattle, Chicago, San Diego and Hanover, Germany are helping their animals get into the holiday spirit by offering up some tasty pumpkins.
Tony Franceschiello, the senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, says handing out the seasonal squash is a great way to add some excitement into the day for the animals.
"They love them," Franceschiello said. "[The pumpkins are] a very novel item, bright in color. They never see these things throughout the year, so it's very creative to them."
Each animal species is different, so keepers like Franceschiello try to take that in account when handing out the pumpkins.
"We do spice them up a little bit with meal worms for the meerkats," he said. "The bat-eared foxes have mice and crickets crawling throughout. Elephants just pretty much crush them, because they're melon eaters anyway."
For the red river hogs, Franceschiello says they go all out.
"We put some greens in there and some different faces on the pumpkins so they look scared or mad or something," Franceschiello said. "They just attack them and roll them around the exhibit."
To see how animals have a smashing good time smashing pumpkins, check out the slideshow:
