Humans aren’t the only species that dabble in the occasional drink. From fruit flies to elephants, creatures across the animal kingdom have been observed consuming fermented foods. But what happens when our closest relatives show a taste for alcohol?
Wild chimpanzees, just about as close to humans as apes get on the genetic family tree, have been captured on film eating and sharing fermented fruit, which naturally contains alcohol. The footage, taken by a research team led by the University of Exeter in Guinea-Bissau’s Cantanhez National Park, shows a behavior that may offer valuable clues about the origins of human alcohol consumption and the evolution of social bonding.
Motion-activated cameras revealed chimpanzees gathering around African breadfruit trees, eating and sharing the fruit with one another as though engaged in a primordial happy hour. Later testing confirmed that the fruits contained ethanol — the same type of alcohol found in beer ...
