by Funny Moment Of The Elephants Were Drunk Fell Over Their Herd
These funny pictures were taken after a herd of young elephants ate a fruit that is said to make large mammals drunk when consumed in enormous amounts. The marula fruit is said to be sweet, tangy, and refreshing when eaten after it has matured and fallen to the ground.
Ross Couper, a field guide who works for luxury safari outfit Singita in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, saw the elephants begin to stumble around and fall over their siblings after eating that fruit. ‘We were in amazement because the youngsters appeared to be rather intoxicated,’” he said.
However, it has also been suggested that the strange behavior is actually caused by eating moth pupae found in the marula tree’s bark
Do Elephants Get Dʀᴜɴᴋ on Marula Fruit?
Marula is a beautiful African tree species that produces aromatic fruits about the size of plums. Marula fruits drop from the tree and slowly ferment on the ground. Because they are so high in sugar, the fermentation process happens quickly. Animals come past and eat the fruits, sometimes eating great quantities because food can be hard to come by on the savannah. Then the animals become drunk and act a little crazy.
But the most elephants feed on marula trees will pick the fruit directly from the tree branches. Elephants can reach up and grab the lush fruit with their trunks. Naturally, they don’t need to wait until it drops on the ground.
Food is precious in the African savanna. As soon as the marula fruit is ripe, there will be many animals coming out for a feast – not just elephants. So, the marula fruit won’t have time to ferment and become alcoholic. Plus, the animals have no need to eat rotten fruit. Some theorists believed that the fruit could ferment inside the elephant because it would take up to 48 hours to pass through an elephant’s system make them drunk.
