PORTLAND (AP) — A baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo had more tricks than treats to show when handlers gave it a small pumpkin to play with during an annual fall event where giant elephants smash half-ton pumpkins.

Weighing just 775 pounds (351.5 kilograms), eight-month-old Asian elephant Tula-Tu is about the heft of one of the giant pumpkins so is too small to smash them. Instead, zoo handlers gave her a small pumpkin to practice with. The little elephant dribbled the gourd around like a soccer ball, a video from the zoo shows.

Her elephant family at the Oregon Zoo enjoyed the large pumpkins on Oct. 16 at the annual “Squishing of the Squash,” a tradition that goes back to 1999 when a farmer donated a pumpkin weighing 828 pounds (376 kilograms). The donated pumpkins have gotten bigger, around 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) this year, thanks to competitive hobbyists at the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Club.

To break open the gargantuan gourds, zookeepers present them to Tula-Tu’s adult relatives like her brother and father who weigh slightly over 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms). In a video from the zoo, they appear to delicately place one foot at the top, and gently press down. The pumpkins crack with a loud pop, sending rind and seeds flying.

Past years’ videos have shown midsized, young elephants putting both feet on top of the pumpkins but being too light — or lacking technique — so the giant vegetables don’t burst.

This year the adults elephants smashed the massive pumpkins in front of a cheering crowd of zoo visitors, and then the family of elephants ate the many tons of squash fragments.

Asian elephants like Tula-Tu and her family are considered highly endangered, according to Oregon Zoo officials. There is a fragmented population of around 40,000 to 50,000 such elephants in the wild in places ranging from India to the Malaysian island of Borneo. But there have been successful conservation milestones in recent years, including in Cambodia.

A new video has emerged showing what could be the Louvre thieves in action as they carried out Sunday’s daylight robbery at Paris’s world-famous museum.

The footage, obtained by French broadcaster BFMTV, purportedly shows what has been called one of the most brazen art thefts in recent memory.

The short clip appears to show someone inside the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, which was home to some of the museum’s most priceless treasures.

Footage taken by an anonymous bystander shows a person in a bright yellow jacket standing beside a glass display case.

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The amateur footage was replayed for BFMTV, who filmed that phone’s screen and verified it Sunday. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm its authenticity.

According to French authorities, the thieves executed a highly coordinated operation that unfolded just after the museum opened to the public in the morning.

At around 9:30 a.m., thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre’s facade, forcing open a window to gain entry to the Apollo Gallery, which contains displays of the royal jewels.

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Thieves executed a daytime heist at the Louvre Museum, stealing French crown jewels. (Thibault Camus : AP)

According to reports, the group made off with jewels once belonging to Napoleon III’s court, including pieces from Empress Eugénie’s personal collection.

“They breached through a window and made this really brazen. These guys are fast and moving quickly with a purpose, and they breach, and they get in there really quickly,” former FBI Art Crime expert Tim Carpenter told Fox News Digital.

After the heist, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke to radio station France Inter and said the thieves “entered from the outside using a basket lift” and “a disc cutter” to slice through glass panes containing precious jewels.

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A crown worn by French Empress Eugenie, which was targeted by thieves during a heist at Paris’ Louvre Museum on Oct. 19, 2025 but was dropped during their escape, on display in this undated still frame from a video. (Louvre Museum/Handout via Reuters)

“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” the ministry also said in a statement. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”

The Louvre remained closed on Monday as investigators combed through the scene and reviewed surveillance footage.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Louvre Museum and the Ministry of Culture for comment.