Ever thought chimps could be party animals? They might just be! 🐒🍹 A groundbreaking study published in Science Advances reveals that wild chimpanzees in Africa feast on ripe, fermenting fruit brimming with ethanol. These furry friends are essentially getting a daily buzz—about 14 grams of alcohol per day, which is like sipping a pint of beer when adjusted for their body size.
Researchers collected the same fruits chimps love and measured how much ethanol forms as sugar ferments. Lead author Aleksey Maro from UC Berkeley says, "It’s not an insubstantial amount of alcohol, but very diluted and more associated with food." In other words, chimps don’t go out seeking a party—they’re just eating fruit that happens to be boozy! 🌿🍌
This discovery breathes new life into the "drunken monkey" theory first proposed by biologist Robert Dudley. The idea is that our primate ancestors might have developed a taste for alcohol and the ability to process it because of fermented fruits in their diet. Maro quips that a better name for this idea might be the "evolutionary hangover." 🤯
Anthropology professor Nathaniel Dominy from Dartmouth College, who wasn’t involved in the research, calls the paper "a tour de force" that settles debates about ethanol in tropical fruits. Yet, questions remain: Are chimps actively seeking out those boozy fruits, or do they simply eat what’s available? The researchers say more fieldwork is needed to find out.
By studying our closest living relatives, scientists hope to shed light on why humans are drawn to alcohol—and to understand any risks or benefits of low-level, chronic alcohol consumption. As Maro puts it, "We can learn about ourselves through the chimpanzees." 🍃🔬
Reference(s):
Wild chimps eating fermenting fruit get a surprising slug of alcohol
cgtn.com
