Monkeys Love Boozy Fruit, Which May Explain Our Weakness For Alcohol

[Judi Lynn]

Benjamin Taub
By Benjamin Taub
01 APR 2022, 11:47

Black-handed spider monkeys in Panama have a taste for ethanol-rich fruit, which could shed light on the evolutionary origins of humans’ predilection for booze. According to a new study in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the animals’ alcoholic tendencies may support the so-called “drunken monkey” hypothesis, which states that our love of liquor derives from the dietary habits of our primate ancestors.

First proposed by biologist Robert Dudley from the University of California, Berkely, the drunken monkey theory centers on the idea that fruit-eating animals are likely to benefit from consuming slightly over-ripe fruit due to its higher sugar content and calorific value. As these sugars ferment, however, they produce ethanol, which means that these animals may have evolved to guzzle alcoholic food.

While the consumption of ethanol-rich fruit has been documented throughout the animal kingdom, scientists had never previously determined whether non-human primates actually have the capacity to metabolize alcohol in order to harness its calories. To investigate, Dudley and his colleagues traveled to Panama’s Barro Colorado Island, where local spider monkeys spend a good deal of their time devouring the sugary fruit of the local jobo tree.

After examining the partially-eaten fruit dropped by foraging monkeys, the researchers found that the pulp contained an average of 1 to 2 percent ethanol, indicating that the animals do indeed have a preference for alcoholic food. "For the first time, we have been able to show, without a shadow of a doubt, that wild primates, with no human interference, consume fruit-containing ethanol," explained study author Dr Christina Campbell in a statement.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/monkeys-love-boozy-fruit-which-may-explain-our-weakness-for-alcohol/