As the human world is gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, having recently surpassed 300,000 cases worldwide, the animal kingdom is taking advantage of the human absences caused by quarantine and self-isolation measures.
Earlier this week, fourteen elephants reportedly wandered into a village in the Chinese province of Yunnan province hoping to find some food. Instead, they discovered 30 litres (7.9 gallons) of locally produced corn wine.
After their self-inebriation, two large male elephants were supposedly seen passed out in a neighbouring tea field.
Disclaimer: While this story is certainly a speck of light in the long, dark tunnel that is the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is most likely not true. Various Twitter users and an article at The Daily Dot have debunked the viral claim that a herd of elephants got drunk after wandering into a cornfield.
Additionally, social distancing and self-isolation did not enable the elephants to wander into the corn and tea fields, as wild elephants are shown to regularly wander into tea fields in the Yunnan province. It is possible for elephants to become slightly drunk after consuming fermented fruit, but the drunken elephant anecdote is a well-worn travellers’ tale which dates back to the 19th century, and evidently still holds popularity today.
For more elephant-related content, click here to read about the instant karma an elephant herd dealt with would-be poachers.
Featured image via: Epicalyptic/Facebook (although its original source can apparently be traced back to a Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop newsletter).
