Vodka Saved Elephants in Freezing Weather
Vodka has saved the lives of a number of elephants who were forced to endure freezing cold temperatures in Russia recently.
Caretakers looking after elephants left out in the cold in Russia were worried that the animals would freeze to death, so they gave them vodka to keep them warm, and apparently that is what saved their lives.
Reports indicate that the elephants, which were part of a Polish circus tour, were housed in a trailer that burned down on Thursday night outside the city of Novosibirsk, located in southern central Russia.
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The destroyed trailer forced the animal's caretakers to leave the elephants out in the freezing cold while they waited for a truck to transport them to another heated facility, Alexander Davydov, emergency ministry spokesman, told The Komsomolskaya Pravda.
It was made known that one of the trainers gave the elephants more than two gallons of vodka that had been diluted in warm water to help the animals stay warm.
Novosibirsk's zoo director Rostislav Shilo explained that the concoction had saved the animals from freezing to death. They were later picked up by a transport vehicle and moved them to a gym of a local college.
"They started roaring like if they were in the jungle! Perhaps, they were happy," an official told Russian paper Ria Novosti.
Shilo said the mixture was not concentrated enough for the animals to become intoxicated.
It has long been stated that drinking alcohol will be able to warm a person up, but doctors maintain that drinking alcohol actually lowers a person's core body temperature.
The news comes recently after it was made known that a new popular coffee brew was produced with the help of elephants in Thailand.
The new brew, known as Black Ivory, was recently introduced at Thailand's luxury Anantara hotels. The exclusive drink is manufactured with elephant-processed beans at the Golden Triangle resort in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, according to the Associated Press.
"Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein," Anantara explained in a press release. "Since protein is one of the main factors responsible for bitterness in coffee, less protein means almost no bitterness."
The beans are then cleaned and served to anxious customers.
