Did you know that some animals love alcohol ? Discover their habits!

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Alcohol is not just for humans. Researchers at the University of Exeter have revealed that drinking alcohol can be a major contributor to the health and well-being of humans. ;#8217;ethanol is quite widespread in the animal kingdom. From jungles to orchards to tropical islands, many wild species are regularly indulge in the pleasures of natural fermentation. « We are moving beyond the idea that alcohol is a substance solely related to human activity. In fact, ethanol is widely present in nature ” explains researcher Anna Bowland, who participated in this research.

A Million-Year-Old Alcoholic Feast

The emergence of flowering plants marked the beginning of a heady era in natural history. Their sweet fruits and nectars, when fermented by yeast, produce ethanol in varying concentrations. While most fruits contain between 1% and 2% alcohol, some, like those of the palm tree, can reach cocktail-worthy levels, up to 10%. In this natural open-air bar, there is no shortage of guests !

Scientists have captured astonishing scenes in Guinea: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) greedily drinking fermented palm sap. In Panama, spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) do not deny themselves their pleasure in front of the fruits of the Mombin plum tree, a local tropical tree. The latter, with a tangy taste and a pleasant smell, are filled with a nectar containing up to 2.5% alcohol. These distant cousins ​​of man seem to have developed, like us, a certain taste for fermented drinks.

When animals lose control

As for us, alcohol abuse, for some animals, does not necessarily suit them. While some species manage their alcohol consumption remarkably well, others occasionally end up in a difficult situation. Cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), an American passerine bird, sometimes have this painful experience: after gorging on overripe Brazilian pepper berries, these birds can end their flight against fences, victims of fatal drunkenness.

Very surprisingly, it is on the insect side that the negative effects of alcohol can be most easily verified. Some species of fruit flies or drosophila are affected by this, and alcohol has a negative influence on their reproductive behavior. Male fruit flies drown their sorrows in ethanol after a female refuses, while females become less selective in their choice of partners after a few sips. A behavior that may seem very similar to ours, even though we are very far removed from these species from an evolutionary point of view.

Only one species seems to tolerate alcohol ingestion very well: the oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis), a species of hornet native to the Middle East and North Africa, whose populations have spread as far as the south of France, particularly to Marseille. These insects are capable of ingesting solutions containing up to 80% alcoholwithout suffering any harmful effects. This exceptional tolerance was recently highlighted by a study from Tel Aviv University.

The consumption of ethanol in certain animals is therefore not simply a question of food availability. In some cases, it is linked to adaptations to particular environments (tropical regions where fruits ferment quickly) and would play an important role in social interactions. It was Boris Vian who said: “Man is the only animal that accepts dying provided that he derives pleasure from it (drugs, alcohol, etc.)” ; modern science would therefore have proven him wrong ?

• Researchers have discovered that ethanol consumption is common in the animal kingdom, observing animals drinking naturally fermented liquids.
• Some species, such as monkeys and birds, show signs of drunkenness, and for some, alcohol abuse can even be fatal.
• The oriental hornet, on the other hand, is distinguished by its exceptional tolerance to alcohol, being able to ingest solutions containing up to 80% alcohol without problem.

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