Gajah Mabuk Lantaran Makan Buah Marula
Elephants Stumbled Around and Fell Over after Eating Marula Fruit
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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MANUSIA 'giting' alias teler karena narkoba mungkin hal biasa, tapi kalau gajah yang mengalami hal itu tentunya sangat menggelikan.
Inilah foto-foto komikal yang menggelikan ketika sekawanan gajah muda makan buah, yang membuat mamalia raksasa ini mabuk lantaran terlalu banyak menyantapnya buah memabukkan.
Buah marula - rasanya manis campur asam dan menyegarkan - tampaknya memiliki efek memabukkan bila dikonsumsi setelah matang di pohon dan dimakan gajah, seperti dilansir Mail Online.
Ross Couper, pemandu yang bekerja di di Taman Nasional Kruger Afrika Selatan, melihat kawanan gajah mulai teler dan jatuh tertidur.
Dia bilang: "Kami menyaksikan dengan geli karena anak-anak gajah itu mabuk berat."
Namun, menurutnya hal itu bukan perilaku yang lazim karena makan buah marula tapi lantaran makan sejenis kepompong kumbang yang hidup di kulit pohon marula.
IF YOU substituted the animals for humans, it’s the sort of scene you might see on a Friday night in Newcastle or Cardiff.
These comical pictures were taken after a herd of young elephants ate a fruit which is said to make large mammals drunk when eaten in huge quantities.
Marula fruit - said to be sweet, tart and refreshing - apparently has an intoxicating effect when consumed after it has ripened 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.
He said: ‘We watched in awe because the youngsters definitely seemed to display signs of being rather tipsy.’
However, it has also been claimed that the unusual behaviour is actually caused by eating beetle pupae that live in the bark of marula trees.
