A Russian guy, a Mongolian guy & an elephant walked into a bar...

A very Russian solution to an elephantine problem
Sydney Morning Herald
January 16, 2006

The Moscow Circus has resorted to vodka - and plenty of it - to keep two Indian elephants warm while they perform in chilly Mongolia.

As the circus prepared for a week-long program in Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator, they faced an awkward problem - how to keep the two tropical animals happy in one of the world's coldest environments.

"When the elephants arrived, we gave them three litres of vodka each to keep warm," a circus organiser in Mongolia said.

The mercury in Mongolia regularly falls to minus 30 degrees or lower during the winter months.

The elephants also have to be fed 50 kilograms of vegetables, 30 kilograms of fruit and 20 kilograms of bread and honey every day, running up a giant food bill footed by local bank Mongol Gazar Savings and Loan.