Elephants Drunk in the Wild? Scientists Put the Myth to Rest

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Through calculations of body weight, elephant digestion rates, and other factors, the study authors conclude that it would take about a half gallon (1.9 liters) of ethanol to make an elephant tipsy.

Assuming that fermenting marula fruit would have an alcohol content of 7 percent, it would require 7.1 gallons (27 liters) of marula juice to come up with that half-gallon of alcohol, the scientists say.

Producing a liter of marula wine requires 200 fruits. So an elephant would have to ingest more than 1,400 well-fermented fruits to start to get drunk.

DO WILD  ELEPHANTS GET DRUNK  ?

The Myth of the Drunken Elephant

Wild elephants do sometimes show unusual behavior, but alcohol is unlikely to be the cause. Dr. Morris suggests that three alternative explanations for strange elephant behavior:

1. Elephants are poisoned by beetles that live in the bark of the marula tree.
2. Marula fruit contains other chemicals, such as nicotinic acid, that affects the elephants.
3. Aggressive behavior is normal as some elephants protect their food supply.

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Origin

The story is traced back to the 1970s (1974 to be exact), when a guy by the name of Jamie Uys produced two documentaries called “Beautiful People” (he also directed “The Gods Must Be Crazy”)

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. The footage, among other things showing wild animals getting drunk after eating the marula fruits, became an immediate hit (and even received an award for best documentary).

Since then millions of people are still persuaded that elephants do indeed get drunk with such “potent” fruits! The question is: is it true?

Genuine Info or Total Fallacy?

the story is absolutely false!

The two Beautiful People films were documentaries about the plant and animal life in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, especially desert creatures.

A highlight of the film included a scene with elephants, warthogs, monkeys and other animals staggering around after eating rotten, fermented marula fruit.

In fact,

Jacobus Johannes Uys (30 May 1921 – 29 January 1996), better known as Jamie Uys, was a South African film director.

Jamie Uys’ footage was totally staged and the animals were in fact fed with alcohol

The directors soaked the food and then filmed it!

Today the film would’ve made a scandal, but back then it was another story!

Apparently, if this whole “myth” was to be true

, any person (or animal) would have to ingest 25% of its own body weight in fruit (in one go) in order to get drunk from it. Not very realistic!

Africam Tembe Elephant Park 25 Feb 2012 Siqualo

VIDEO  CLICK HERE

WILDLIFE VIDEO  TEMBE   CLICK HERE

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Isilo, Induna and Mkadebona at Tembe 30/5/11

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MAY 14

NEW BULL   HOLE IN EAR

may 09

ISILO

MVUK -

Lynda Revell We do not know why he died. He was not an old elephant and had no visable signs/injury. Possibly he was injured in a fight with another bull and it could have been on the side on which he was lying. When the carcass was found, it was already too rotten to turn over to check his other side.

may 13  -

cut on elephant trunk te

may 08

map CLICK HERE

mkadebona

if you dont know where a calf  elephant gets it milk

from  the cow look at the picture

look in this site   click here to read

more on elephants

A calf drinks milk from its mother until it is about two years old

• New-born elephants are born with an incredible mass of 77-113 kg. But they weight only 4% of an adult female's weight and only 2% of an adult male's.
• New-borns may consume 11.4 litres of milk a day
• Young calves commence weaning from the first year of life until the tenth year of life
• The brain of new-born elephants are 30-40% of the size of that of an adult
• Mothers allocate care and interact differently depending on the baby's sex

Elephants eat between 149 and 169 kg (330-375 lb.)of vegetation daily.

Sixteen to eighteen hours, or nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding. Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots.

Tree bark is a favorite food source for elephants. It contains calcium and roughage,

which aids digestion. Tusks are used to carve into the trunk and tear off strips of bark.

Elephants require about 68.4 to 98.8 L (18 to 26 gal.) of water daily, but may consume up to 152 L (40 gal.

An adult male elephant can drink up to 212 L (55 gal.) of water in less than five minutes.

To supplement the diet, elephants will dig up earth to obtain salt and minerals. The tusks are used to churn the ground. The elephant then places dislodged pieces of soil into its mouth, to obtain nutrients.

Frequently these areas result in holes that are several feet deep and vital minerals are made accessible to other animals

MAY 04

i now see why he is called  OLD SICK GUY

HIS EYE IS MISSING-  YOU CAN ONLY GUEES AS TO WHY

"  SAD  "

APRIL 30

MORE TROUBLE AT THE

MAHLASELA PAN

TEMBE -   MICRAPHONE-

cable laid down the 01- january  2011

this is an update on more work

power cable to microphone RIPPED UP

april 30     -   2012

Microphone The microphone is situated under the hide at this time, it will be relocated to the observation pit near the waters edge

location and technical data

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power cable to microphone RIPPED UP

april 30     -   2012

CABLE FOR THE NEW MICRAPHONE AT  THE TEMBE HIDE PAN

2011 -01/ 05

Ellie at around 930 CAT Unknown,

but had bigger tusks than others.

Tembe monday May 1st, 2012

Induna,

2nd Largest Big Tusker Elephant

in Southern Africa Passes Away

End of an Era Brings New Legend, Farewell IndunaInduna, a bull elephant that lived in the Tembe Elephant Park, recently passed away from old age.  A regal elephant, strong in stature with tusks that earned him the label of  a “tusker”. A tusker is an elephant with tusks that weigh more than 45.45 kg/100 lbs each.
Induna was an amazing sight to behold, with the gentle movements of a patient giant moving through the bush, he carried a pair of the largest tusks in South Africa. Estimated to be about 50 years old, the combined weight of his tusks was thought to be about 107 kg/235 lbs, more than the weight of an average man. Like any elephant, especially a male, Induna didn't hesitate to claim his territory if needed or trumpet warnings and shake his head at any male attempting to intrude.
From prehistoric times to the present day, ivory has been sought by man as a luxury and a tool. The Trojans wore buckles and pins fashioned from the elephant's tusks, and adorned their war chariots with bits of ivory. King Solomon sat on a throne of ivory as he delivered his judgments. The Greeks cut ivory into statues of their gods; the Romans honored illustrious men with handsomely chiseled writing tablets and scepters carved in ivory. From 1860 - 1930, 25,000 - 100,000 elephants were killed annually for their ivory, mostly to supply material for the manufacture of piano keys in Europe and the United States. In 1990, the international sale of ivory was banned, but the demand remains and poachers continue to bring down these magnificent animals, and with great cruelty they rip the ivory from the elephant.  (Laursen & Bekoff 1978, Ricciuti 1993, Nowak 1999)

The big tuskers in the Tembe Elephant Park are truly magnificent, and losing one always seems sad, but Induna lived a long life and died as he should have, of natural causes. We have truly been honored to have seen him cross the view of the cam on many occasions, causing quite a buzz as he meanders through. There are other elephants in the area with wisdom of age and tusks of glory, perhaps they will come through and allow us to see them, reminding us of Induna and others that have passed on before him. Even in death these creatures demand our respect, with their memories living on through stories and pictures, ensuring they will never be forgotten.

Farewell Induna, your life was truly one of magnificence.

SEE A VIDEO OF INDUNA HERE

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