Because everybody loves elephants… or edaphants, as little Olivia calls them… because she’s 2.

On our most recent adventure to the San Diego zoo… sorry… the ‘world famous’ San Diego zoo… (the locals get mad if you leave off the ‘world famous’ part)… we saw an elephant playing with a box.

She was having a lot of fun with that box. I think there might have been treats… like apples… inside.

She was throwing it around…

And sticking her trunk in the little holes…

And picking it up between her trunk and her feet…

And then there was this lovely girl.

She was grabbing hay from a hanging barrel that swung around and moved up and down. And maybe that is why I only laugh a little at the ‘world famous’ part of the zoo name. Because they really did start the movement to get animals out of little cages and into larger, more natural enclosures, with more things to do. That and the breeding programs for endangered species.

And don’t all the animals in all the photos from this series look happy?