Elephants Happily Get Drunk On Corn Wine While Humans Social Distancing

A reddit post of a group of elephants getting drunk on corn wine and partying in a tea plantation is going viral after it was revealed the elephant revellers got up to their mischief because humans were social distancing due to COVID-19.

“While humans carry out social distancing, a group of 14 elephants broke into a village in Yunan province, looking for corn and other food. They ended up drinking 30kg of corn wine and got so drunk that they fell asleep in a nearby tea garden,” redditor ADarkcid wrote in their post.

One photo reveals two male elephants passed out and sleeping with contented smiles on their faces. The other elephants are awake and also look happy and appear to be goofing off in the garden. Two elephants are happily facing one another, with one having his trunk loosely draped over his friend’s head.

While humans carry out social distancing, a group of 14 elephants broke into a village in Yunan province, looking for corn and other food. They ended up drinking 30kg of corn wine and got so drunk that they fell asleep in a nearby tea garden. from r/interestingasfuck

The redditor noted they didn’t research the image, so it’s not clear when exactly the elephants got drunk. But a tweet by Li Jing appears to be the earliest source from March 11, 2020.

The pictures were also shared on Twitter by HGS Dhaliwal, a conservationist and writer. He tweeted, “Xishuangbana, Yunnan, China. 11 March, a herd of 14 elephants went to village. Looking for corn and other foodstuffs. Apparently, They also polished 30 KG of corn whisky!”

Many people adore the photos writing comments like “so sweet” and “ROFL…loved it”. Others, meanwhile, were concerned for the elephants’ health. “I hope the elephants recovered,” wrote one.

Stories of drunk elephants have been documented in South African folklore. The Drink Business references the elephants’ love of eating the fermented fruit of the marula tree, which they would gorge on until drunk, although scientific studies cast doubt on the tales.

But according to conservationist Parveen Kaswan, elephants do like to drink. In a Twitter thread, he says that elephants have a taste for liquor and fermenting fruits, and often seek them out and noting areas where people make liquor.

“Some are surprised on knowing that Elephants like alcohol,” he tweeted. “They like it a lot. Even Mahua fruits & ripened pineapple, jackfruit. They dig the locations where tribals store that country made liquor.”

He revealed the animals mark spots “where they were successful so they can return to them” and actively search for extra ripe fruits. He added a funny detail that elephants also get irritated when they see intoxicated people. “If they see drunk people they get irritated also, since it [alcohol] was not shared with them,” he tweeted.

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