Despite these widespread reports, scientists have questioned whether animals — especially large ones such as elephants and elk — actually become inebriated. ... Intoxicated wild elephants, the researchers concluded, must be a myth. As the lead author said at the time, “People just want to believe in drunken elephants.”

How much alcohol can an elephant drink?

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.

What animals cant get drunk?

Seven species of animals, including the treeshrew and the slow loris, feed on fermented nectar from the flower buds of the bertam palm plant. But though the treeshrew quaffs this brew all day long, it doesn't get drunk, scientists found in a 2008 PNAS study.