It appears chimpanzees are more like humankind than we first thought; just like us they love a good drink to get the party started, as scientists have recently discovered.
To find out more read our full blog at: http://blog.worldweatheronline.com/2015/07/17/chimps-booze-alcoholic-sap-get-round/
3. www.worldweatheronline.com
Natural alcohol
The substance the chimps were drinking is called ‘Palm
Wine’, a natural alcoholic; fermented sap which they
drank through a bundle of leaves to work like a sponge.
This is not the first incident of chimpanzees showing an
attraction to alcohol; green monkeys in St Kitts, Caribbean
have been known to steal tourists’ cocktails.
4. www.worldweatheronline.com
Is the alcohol safe?
A recent study shows evidence
that humans and African apes
share a genetic mutation
enabling us to effectively
metabolise ethanol.
One monkey was reported to
be repeatedly swinging from
tree to tree for up to an hour
and it is no surprise with the
sap reaching 6.9% ABV – being
stronger than most lagers!
5. www.worldweatheronline.com
Where did this take place?
The research took place at
Bossou, Guinea where the
locals are known to harvest
‘Palm Wine’ from the trees.
In just a few weeks a single tree
can yield up to 50 litres of sap,
so it is to no surprise why this
natural alcoholic beverage is a
real hit with the locals.