Slam Dunkin' Pumpkins! Oregon Zoo's Otters Play Halloween Basketball Game
Slam Dunkin' Pumpkins! Oregon Zoo's Otters Play Halloween Basketball Game. Oregon Zoo's famous basketball-playing sea otters are celebrating Halloween in typical style - by slam dunkin' pumpkins. To celebrate Halloween on Thursday the otters gave their furry Halloween take on Space Jam. Several years ago, caretakers at the zoo trained elderly sea otter Eddie to put a ball through a mini basketball hoop to exercise his arthritic elbow joints. Sadly Eddie has gone to the great hardwood court in the sky, but current otters Juno, Lincoln, and Sushi now do him proud with their dunks. To celebrate Halloween, the zoo's animal version of the Portland Trail Blazers replaced their usual basketballs with tiny pumpkins. Other animals also got in on the pumpkin fun - although their skills are far less honed than their otter chums with the lemurs, tortoises and red panda Mushu choosing to treat the pumpkins as a tasty snack. However, elephant Samudra did display some footballing skills - before she crushed her pumpkin ball. Meanwhile, the beavers also enjoyed fun and frolics with some unusual characters - as keepers got in the Halloween spirit and dressed up for the occasion.