Drunkenness in the animal kingdom
Column Claudia Vinke
In Dutch veterinary practices, pets that have consumed something from the street and look a little stoned visit regularly, especially in the Randstad cities. Occasionally, the cause is drugs left behind by people. Pet owners don’t always notice this until their dog sinks through their legs or walks like a drunkard. Then you’ll immediately have to visit a veterinarian. But why do pets eat drugs? Is this by accident or are animals not repelled by occasional drug or alcohol use?
Research shows that animals secretly love pimping. Rats that were allowed to choose between sixty seconds of social interactions or alcohol would unanimously choose for alcohol. This was the case for both male and female rats. Even insects seem to be vulnerable to addictive substances: researchers lured moths into traps with beer and wine. Stupendously, male fruit flies that weren’t allowed sex would start drinking more alcohol than males that were having sex.
Bavianen die omkukelen
Animals in nature can go really far with this. Drunkenness can quite literally dangle from a tree. In some seasons, overripe fruit trees start to ferment and those half rotting fruits contain one to two percent alcohol. You may think that’s not very high, but it’s enough to make these animals trot and stagger a lot. Baboons that trip, zebras that balance on two legs and giraffes and elephants that trip over their own legs. They do not know their limits to alcohol. Nothing human is strange to animals.
Gistend fruit
But why do animals have such a fondness for fermenting fruit? Maybe because fermented fruit is rich with energy. This was hypothesized by researcher Christina Campbell and colleagues in 2022 with their research to muriqui in the wild that like a sip or two. In an evolutionary perspective, obtaining energy looks like a smart choice. On the other hand it sounds like an opportunity for predators that don’t eat fruits since who would be taking care of the little ones when mom and dad aren’t able to look out of their own eyes anymore?
Claudia Vinke is behavior biologist at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht.