ELEPHANTS at Whipsnade Zoo are having fun courtesy of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Earlier this year the service donated two de-commissioned fire hoses for the elephants at the Bedfordshire zoo to play with.
And the nine Asian elephants have been enjoying fun and games with their new toys.
Along with using the hoses as feeding balls – which they kick along like footballs until all of the food comes out – the animals have also enjoyed working out how to get tasty treats out of the hoses while they are strung up in a tree in the enclosure.
A fire service spokesman said: “The zoo sent us photos to show how the elephants are using our de-commissioned fire hoses to enrich their learning environment. It looks like they are having lots of fun and to see the hoses get a new lease of life in this way is great.
Zoo team leader Stefan Groeneveld said: “We are always looking for new ways to stimulate our elephants and bring out their natural behaviours like foraging for food, and fire hoses, which are made of incredibly strong material, are perfect.”