It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us and some people are already starting to think about picking out a Christmas tree. It’s a fun part of the holiday season but once the season is over, you might be wondering what you will do with the tree. Rather than kicking it to the curb, you can give it to elephants and they will recycle your Christmas tree for you. If you happen to live near a zoo or sanctuary that is taking part in this program, you can drop off your Christmas tree and they will feed them to the elephants. You can even see a video of it below and it is absolutely adorable!

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is one of the areas that recycles Christmas trees in this way. Elephants that retire from zoos and circuses can spend their senior years in three different habitats on over 2,700 acres. The public doesn’t have access to it but you can still watch the ‘Elecams‘ online to see the elephants hanging out on the property. The sanctuary is now accepting Christmas tree donations for a second year from middle Tennessee residents until January 2.

Most people are already well aware of the fact that elephants are large animals. National Geographic even says that they are the largest land animals. After all, African elephants may stand 13 feet tall and weigh over 20,000 pounds! It’s obvious that such a large body would need plenty of food to keep going. That is why elephants may spend up to 18 hours a day eating grass, tree foliage, bark, and any other vegetation they have at their disposal.

That is why the Christmas tree donations can be so helpful. The Elephant Sanctuary explains that the trees “provide enrichment and supplement the elephants’ decreased foraging opportunities during the winter months.” The trees are also safe for the elephants to consume, even though they don’t typically eat conifers. It’s a nice way to make the most out of your Christmas tree and it certainly is better than taking it to the dump.

You can watch elephants eating Christmas trees in this video: