Can an elephant stretch so high to pluck jackfruit? Watch video

How far high will an elephant reach out for food of its choice ? Quite high, as this viral video of an elephant plucking jackfruit shows.

The 30-second video clip shared by IAS officer Supriya Sahu shows a tusker at an unidentified village trying to pull down jackfruit which seemed too far beyond the reach of his trunk. The voices of villagers can be heard in the background, some of anticipation, some of encouragement.

Fifteen seconds into the video, the elephant changes tack. He lifts his front legs up and plants them on a jutting portion of the trunk, rises to full height on his hind legs, and stretches his trunk a long way up. Three jackfruit that seemed several feet above his reach are suddenly in his grasp. They are pulled down, the villagers break into a cheer, and the video ends.


"Jackfruit is to elephants what mangoes are to humans. And the applause by humans at the successful effort of this determined elephant to get to jackfruits is absolutely heartwarming," Sahu wrote while sharing the video.

Many reacted with disbelief, some offered more information on how elephants go about getting food they like.