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5 species of animals get drunk in the wild
Drinking is one of mankind's oldest pastimes, having a rich history stretching back long before the supposed Christmas of Christ.
Did you know that "The Star Spangled Banner" is actually written to the tune of an old drinking song for example?
Right;
Are there animals out there that enjoy a little?
You can rest assured, humans are not the only living creatures who feel the wrath of the hangover!
From rehab birds and bees with DUI, to monkeys stealing cocktails and fighting, here's a list of 5 species of drunken nature animals and how they do it.
Tree shrews have tails and their bedtime beer.
In the rainforests of Malaysia, the tailed tree shrew, a small rodent no bigger than your normal rat, is always thirsty for fermented palm nectar every night.
The poison they chose had an alcohol content very similar to beer, and in about two hours a night these shrews would drink it all!
Now, this sounds like a drinking problem to us, but for these shrews it's a way of life and a way they've lived for millennia.
In fact, this was their way of life from so long ago that even though drinking a large amount of a drink every day, they didn't even get drunk!
Scientists believe that this nightly nightly drinking is very beneficial for shrews, stating that they have a more mature metabolic rate when consuming alcohol, helping them avoid cardiovascular risk and helping them to consume.
American bats handle alcohol better than their Egyptian cousins.
Tropical bats from both Central and South America have been observed frequently to eat fermented fruit and nectar;
Bats navigate during flight through the use of echolocation, like a built-in sonar system they have.
It was found that when they had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.3% (note that all states in the US require drivers to have a blood alcohol concentration below 0.08%) they still have
It was also found that the bats do not babble, so to speak, when using their echolocation.
However, the same study found that bats of the same type in Egypt crashed when navigating the same obstacle a lot more.
While the real reason for this is difficult to determine, scientists believe that Egyptian bats were less tolerant of alcohol since they ate less fermented fruit.
The scientists also say that the stamina of American bats gives them a distinct evolutionary advantage, allowing them to eat food that has not been touched by other animals and is relatively alert.
Bohemian Waxes who must go to rehab.
Bohemian Waxes are known to love to eat berries that grow on Rowan Trees, especially when the weather gets cooler and berries begin to ferment.
Now, only a few birds eat coffee pods until they're healthy and actually move to the trash, with most birds being only slightly buzzing.
But for those who don't know when to stop, flight locations become problematic - and dangerous - with a few fatal accidents caused by drunkenness into buildings recorded while being affected.
In 2014, some of these birds became so drunk that they were taken to an animal care and treatment facility in Yukon, Canada, to stay awake.
For those who are unable to recover, there is another option - rehabilitation, in the Yukon Wildlife Sanctuary!
The bees receive DUI.
Receiving DUI (Driving Under the Influence) is probably the most fatal driving error a person can make.
Now imagine getting one of those things because of air sickness.
Bees are known to be intoxicated with fermented nectar, and when drunk is a very dangerous flying species that often causes accidents.
Some bees are so wasteful that they cannot even find their way back to the hive!
But the people who put it back into the hive are even worse.
A study of drunken bees found that when a bee returned to the hive in a drunken state, other bees often blocked it from entering the hive until it regained consciousness, sometimes attacking them to help them.
And when they finally land, they are usually allowed to land until it is safe to fly again!
The drunken monkeys of St.
On the island St.
Not long ago, monkeys famous for stealing and eating fermented sugarcane were used to make rum, but as the rum industry evolved, so did monkey stealing methods.
There is currently a very popular tourist destination, the beaches of St. John's.
However, not all of those cocktails are consumed by tourists - oh no!
Green Vervet's is notorious for stealing cocktails from modest seafarers.
A study done on these monkeys found that, like us humans, the monkeys tended to divide into four different types of drinkers: social drinkers, steady drinkers,
Most of the monkeys were social drinkers, who tended to have only a little bit of contact with other monkeys, even though they never ate before lunch.
12% are steady drinkers, people who prefer to drink more than their social friends, 5% are excessive drinkers and only a small percentage are drunk.
5% classified as insatiable drinkers are notorious for stumbling, vomiting, starting fights and binge eating until they pass out while being affected!
The same study also showed that young monkeys drink more than adults and all monkeys prefer fruit cocktails.
