Jumbos quaffing vodka

2006-01-13 12:27

Beijing - Indian elephants preparing to perform in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator are drinking daily doses of vodka to help them survive temperatures as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius, local media said on Friday.

The elephants are working for the Moscow State Circus, which on Sunday plans to hold its first show in Mongolia for 25 years, the UB Post newspaper said in a report posted on its website.

The elephants had to travel on trucks from Moscow to Ulan Bator because they were too large to be transported by rail with the rest of the circus.

To help the Indian elephants ward off the cold, staff at the Ulan Bator State Circus are giving them two litres of vodka a day, the newspaper quoted the Mongolian circus manager as saying.

The circus staff are also feeding each elephant with a daily diet of around 50kg of vegetables, 30kg of fruit and 20kg of bread and honey.

The Moscow State Circus is scheduled to stage two shows daily from Sunday in Ulan Bator.

The elephants will perform a 20-minute routine in each two-hour show, which will also feature clowns, magicians, trapeze artists, jugglers and contortionists, the report said.

The daytime temperature in Ulan Bator was minus 22 degrees Celsius on Friday and was forecast to fall to as low as minus 28 on Sunday, according to the city government's official website. -Sapa-dpa

- SAPA