The Viral Case of 2 Dozens of Drunken Jumbos in Odisha

What happens if elephants get drunk? They would cause so much havoc that controlling them would be difficult. If we humans cannot control our balance after drinking too much, expecting it from animals is totally unacceptable.

They can even injure or kill those who try to go closer to them.  Luckily, nothing happened in Odisha when a herd of 24 elephants got drunk.

But, the question is how do those jumbos get alcohol? Because hearing such news is not very normal so knowing what happened is a must.

What’s the Whole Incident of Drunken Elephants in Odisha?

Recently, villagers of Keonjhar district in Odisha found a herd of drunken elephants when they went inside the jungle. They went to prepare traditional alcohol using locally grown mahua (madhuca longifolia).

First, they filled the pots with water and added mahua flowers, and left the pots for the fermentation process.

When villagers reached the forest in the morning around 6 am, they saw broken pots and a herd of elephants sleeping near the pots.

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There were around 24 elephants including nine tuskers and calves and female elephants. All were drunk and sleeping. Villagers tried to wake them up but none of their techniques woke up the drunken elephants.

After trying so hard they had to inform the forest department about the incident. Thankfully, officials succeeded in waking up the elephants using drums.

Jumbos then walked inside the jungle. However, the officials are unsure that elephants were sleeping because of drinking mahua water.

Odisha's drunken elephants' case is not the first ever. Two years ago in China, villagers of Yunnan Province found 14 elephants who passed out after drinking 30 liters of corn wine.

However, wine or alcohol is not the only thing that can get them drunk. Fermented fruits can make them tipsy easily. 

Why do Elephants Get Drunk?

It is because elephants don't have the ADH7 gene which makes the breakdown of ethyl alcohol easy. That is why these mammals easily get drunk. 

And to your surprise, elephants are not the only mammals who get drunk with fermented fruits. Horses and cows also lack the ADH7 mutation which makes the breakdown of ethyl alcohol harder for them.