Elephants in a suburban Tokyo zoo take part in a traditional Japanese bean-throwing festival called "Setsubun."
Mammy and Minister, two Asian elephants, threw trunkfuls of soya beans at their handlers dressed in colorful demon costumes -- to symbolize calling for good fortune and chasing out the bad.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MAI SASAKI, DIRECTOR OF ICHIHARA ELEPHANT KINGDOM:
"They can splash water with their trunks so we thought they might be able to shoot out beans as well. They used to eat every bean we gave them, but now they can throw the beans very well."
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOMOKO TAKASAKA, ZOO VISITOR WHO CAME WITH HER DAUGHTER NONOKA:
"It's really amazing! They do it so well!"
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) YUMA HIROTA, FIVE-YEAR-OLD ZOO VISITOR WITH HIS MOM NAOKO:
"That was really fun!"
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) NAOKO HIROTA, ZOO VISITOR AND MOTHER OF YUMA:
"Really fun wasn't it?"
