Trick-or-treating won’t be an option for many kids this year. We won’t be going to any Halloween parties either. But there are still ways to enjoy the spooky season from the safety of your own home. You can carve a jack-o-lantern while watching your favorite horror movie, or read a classic scary story. However, in 2020 you might be looking for something less frightening. And fortunately the internet has just what all of us need this October—videos of animals eating pumpkins. It’s the most wholesome way to enjoy this frightening time.
Nagasaki Bio Park in Japan recently continued a great modern day tradition of feeding its animals pumpkins. The park’s caretakers let a group of adorable capybaras feast on some jack-o-lanterns (which we first saw at Laughing Squid). It’s somehow both frantic and incredibly peaceful.
There’s just something about watching a cuddly animal rip apart a pumpkin like a serial killer that soothes us. And the internet has plenty more of them to serve up, like this fantastic video of Galápagos Tortoises enjoying lunch at the San Diego Zoo.
We could watch that on a loop. But our hearts almost can’t handle this porcupine, named Teddy Bear, honking his way through a meal of tiny pumpkins. The video, which first went viral back in 2013, is a must-watch every Halloween season.
The big guys enjoy a good pumpkin, too—especially when it’s sized right for them. In 2009, the Minnesota Zoo shared footage of their grizzly bears tearing into a 500-pound behemoth as part of their Halloween celebration.
Even elephants love a big pumpkin dinner. Last year, the Oregon Zoo shared these big fellas stomping on some giant gourds to make a meal of their own.
But whether they’re big or small, we love watching animals of all shapes and sizes digging into the season’s delight. The Brookfield Zoo in Illinois takes Halloween very seriously, as each critter calling the zoo home gets to take part in holiday festivities.
In fact, Halloween treats are an annual event at the zoo, which shares videos of its residents munching on pumpkins every year.
And to think, we’ve been feeding goats and other animals at the petting zoo seeds and nuts when we could have been providing them with jack-o-lanterns. Think about what we’ve been missing out on all these years!
Nagasaki Biopark
Normally we prefer videos that scare us this time of year. But in 2020, these are the Halloween videos we need.
Featured Image: Nagasaki Biopark
