Everyone knows that spying cute animals is the number one way to chase away a case of the Mondays. Clearly Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is making an all-out effort to perk up those downtown worker bees still nursing St. Patrick’s Day hangovers. Starting at 12:30 this afternoon the circus will begin its Pachyderm Parade, when dozens of elephants, horses and other performing animals will march from 32nd and D Sts, NW SE to the Verizon Center. A Ringling Brothers spokesman says your best viewing spot will be Union Station.

Last year we worried about the partisan implications of such a march, but this year we’ll have our eyes peeled for the company’s zedonk — an unholy, yet strangely adorable, cross between a donkey and a zebra.

The parade will tie up traffic along its route, but officials assure drivers that a clean-up crew will follow closely behind the caravan to clear the roadway of any “parting gifts” left by the animals. The company begins performances at the Verizon Center on Thursday, with shows around the metro region through April 15.

Photo by Flickr user maxedaperture.