Picture this: a bustling Friday night in the heart of Newcastle or Cardiff, but instead of party-goers, you’re surrounded by a herd of playful elephants. This comical scene was captured in a series of photos featuring young elephants who seem to have indulged in a particular fruit a bit too much.
Jovial: Check out these hilarious photos of a group of young elephants who decided to party it up after indulging in some marula fruit! Apparently, this fruit has the ability to make larger mammals a bit tipsy if they munch on too much of it when it’s overripe. These pachyderms were chowing down on the sweet and tangy fruit, which had fallen from the trees and created a sort of “happy hour” for them. It’s amazing how these massive animals can be so playful and carefree!
The marula fruit, known for its sweet, tangy, and refreshing taste, can have an intoxicating effect when consumed after falling from a tree. Ross Couper, an experienced field guide associated with the esteemed Singita safari company in Kruger National Park, observed the amusing antics of elephants after eating the fruit. The young elephants appeared to be displaying signs of drunkenness as they stumbled around and fell on top of each other. However, some people believe that the elephants’ unusual behavior is not due to the marula fruit’s possible fermentation but rather the consumption of beetle pupae found in the bark of marula trees.
Sighted: Ross Couper, a safari guide at Singita Kruger National Park located in South Africa, observed the elephants struggling to maintain their balance and tumbling over each other.
Observers were amazed as they witnessed the young ones displaying signs of being slightly intoxicated, according to Mr. Couper.
Have you had one too many, my friend? If you were to replace the animals with people, it would resemble a typical Friday night in Newcastle or Cardiff.
Adult elephants are known to consume an enormous amount of fruits. In fact, they can devour more than 700 of these fruits if they don’t eat anything else throughout the day.
This season brought about an exceptional yield of marula fruit that fell to the ground, which became an alluring delicacy for a pack of juvenile elephants.
Taking a nap: There is a belief that the unusual conduct might be caused by consuming insect larvae found in the bark of marula trees.