Watch: Elephants Hunt For Easter Eggs

TAMPA, FL — Kids aren’t the only ones who love to scramble for Easter eggs. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay proved that recently by treating its pachyderms to a special hunt just in time for the holiday.

“Our elephants here at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are getting into the Easter spirit, too,” said Karen Varga-Sinka, the theme park’s spokeswoman. To encourage a little holiday fun for gentle giants, the park’s animal care team went to great lengths to decorate “Easter eggs” for its elephants.

The eggs, park officials say, weren’t swiped from the nests of giant birds though. Instead, the herd got to play with edible paper mache "coconuts" that were fruit filled for the creatures' chomping pleasure. While elephants playing with the eye-catching treats made for quite a spectacle, as evidenced by a video Busch Gardens shared, the activity also served an important purpose, Varga-Sinka said.

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“Special enrichment like this stimulates our animals and engages them in a new fun way,” she explained.

Busch Gardens has been known to go to great lengths to provide its animals with unusual enrichments meant to encourage physical and mental activity while stimulating their senses and behaviors. During 2017 College Football National Championship staged in Tampa this past January, the park gave its hippos watermelon “footballs,” created a football tug-of-war game for its cheetahs and even fashioned a giant football field for its giraffes to play on.

What the park’s animal care team might have in store for the upcoming summer remains unclear. Folks can check out the animals live at the park daily, including having a chance to witness some of the enrichment activities for themselves. For information, visit Busch Gardens Tampa Bay online.

Photo and video courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay