April 22 (UPI) — A team of British researchers studying chimpanzees in West Africa said they have documented the primates eating and sharing alcoholic fruit.
The University of Exeter team said cameras set up at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau captured the chimps sharing fermented African breadfruit that was later confirmed to contain ethanol.
The team’s study suggests the chimpanzees could be using the alcohol for a similar purpose as humans who partake in intoxicating beverages.
“For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation,” Anna Bowland, from the university’s Center for Ecology and Conservation, said in a news release.
“We also know that sharing alcohol — including through traditions such as feasting — helps to form and strengthen social bonds,” she said. “So — now we know that wild chimpanzees are eating and sharing ethanolic fruits — the question is: could they be getting similar benefits?”
Researchers from the University of Exeter in Britain set up a camera at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau and captured evidence of chimpanzees sharing fermented fruit that contained alcohol. Photo courtesy of Anna Bowland/Cantanhez Chimpanzee Project/University of Exeter
The researchers said it is notable that the chimps were documented sharing the fruits, rather than eating them alone.
“Chimps don’t share food all the time, so this behavior with fermented fruit might be important,” researcher Kimberley Hockings said. “We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolism it, but this behavior could be the early evolutionary stages of ‘feasting.'”
“If so, it suggests the human tradition of feasting may have its origins deep in our evolutionary history.”
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