Hippos and elephants demolish giant pumpkins in seasonal feast
Three female hippos and nine Asian elephants have received the ultimate seasonal treat at one Australian zoo after staff grew giant pumpkins gulped by the animals’ giant jaws in just a few chomps
READING LEVEL: GREEN
A collection of animals at one Australian zoo could lay claim to being the real Smashing Pumpkins* after showing why having the biggest mouth of any land animal not only puts famous rock bands on notice but also means you need some seriously oversized snacks to make their day.
With pumpkin season now in full swing, the team at Werribee Open Range Zoo grew some giant pumpkins especially for the three hippo girls, giving their powerful jaws the ultimate workout.
Werribee Open Range Zoo savannah manager Dominic Moss said there was nothing quite like the spectacular crunch of a hippo chomping down on an enormous pumpkin.
“Hippos could eat canoes, vegetation or, on the odd occasion, people, but we wanted to give them something a bit tastier,” Mr Moss said. “We call out Primrose and her daughters Tulip and Lotus, and they come waddling over and demolish the entire pumpkin in a few chomps.”
The hippo family’s powerful jaws can crush giant pumpkins easily.
Hippos have enormous mouths that can stretch to around 150 degrees and tusk-like canine teeth that can grow up to 50 centimetres long.
“It’s one of their favourite treats, so it’s fantastic enrichment* for them and they absolutely love it. It looks awesome too,” Mr Moss said.
The zoo’s nine Asian elephants also joined the feast, including playful three-year-old siblings* Aiyara, Roi-Yim and Kati.
Unlike the hippos, the elephants prefer to stomp the pumpkins beneath their feet “like grapes” before scooping up the smashed pieces with their trunks.
“We’ve got nine elephants at Werribee and another three calves on the way, so some extra snacks for the pregnant elephant girls definitely don’t go astray,” Mr Moss said. “You hear this awesome crunch when they squash the pumpkins underfoot before eating them. “Afterwards, the young elephants headed straight into the pool to dunk each other, swim underwater and play around.”
Asian elephants can eat more than 100kg of food each day, using their trunks, which contain more than 40,000 muscles, to smell, grab and scoop food into their mouths.
Even during the colder months, both the hippos and elephants regularly enjoy the water, giving visitors the chance to see splashing, swimming and playful behaviour year-round.
Kids under 16 can visit the elephants and hippos at Werribee free of charge on weekends, public holidays and during the Victorian winter school holidays.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- The Smashing Pumpkins: an influential American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988, they achieved huge global success in the 1990s
- enrichment: the act or process of improving the quality or power of something by adding something else
- siblings: brothers or sisters
EXTRA READING
Pygmy hippo birth, hip hip hooray
Baby elephant tries out new tusks
QUICK QUIZ
- How wide can a hippo’s jaws open?
- How long can their teeth grow to be?
- How many kilos of food can elephants eat a day?
- Up to how many muscles are there in an elephant’s trunk?
- How many elephant calves are on the way to join the zoo’s nine Asian elephants?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. 100 kilograms a day
Asian elephants eat up to 100kg each day. What might this look like …
Draw or label items adding up to 100kg for a hungry elephant.
How many giant pumpkins might this be?
How much would they eat in a whole year?
How do the zookeepers keep up with this food intake?
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Mathematics, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Mr Moss, the zoo’s savannah manager, said eating these giant pumpkins is “fantastic enrichment” for the hippos. What does he mean by this?
Why do hippos need enrichment as well as basic needs like food and water?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Animal alliterations
With a partner, choose one of the pictures from the article.
Make a list of nouns you could use to name the animal in the picture. For example, instead of a tiger, you could also say cat, or feline.
Pick your favourite noun and identify its initial sound — what sound it starts with, not necessarily what letter.
Now, using the initial sound, make a list of adjectives to describe the animal. Try to be specific. Don’t just look at the animal as a whole, look at their different features as well.
Build on these same sound words, and add any verbs and adverbs you could use to describe the animal and their movements.
Try to put it all together and use as many same sound words in a sentence, to create an alliteration about the animal in the picture. For example: the terrifying tiger, tiptoed through tangled trees chasing his prey.