Yes, Animals Like To Get Drunk – Who Wouldn’t? Imbibing alcohol is a honoured tradition for humans one that may well go back as far as 10 million years—we are far from the only species with a soft spot for drunken revelry.
It was a sheer joy writing this blog, being able to relate the ways of drinking in Animal world with human drunken chronicles. From birds going to rehab, bees being penalised for driving(read flying) under the influence of alcohol, to monkeys stealing cocktails and scrapping with each other. You can be rest assured, people aren’t the only living creatures to feel the wrath of a hangover!
Along these lines, the question I want to pose to you is which animal you'd most like to get blitzed with on a weekend. :)
Drown your sorrows in alcohol friend
if you are all the way on the other side of the spectrum and would prefer a quiet night in, fruit flies might be the ideal drinking partner for you. These flies use alcohol for far more relatable reasons, like recovering from sexual rejection. Unmated males are likely to turn to alcohol in fermenting fruit to boost their feelings of satisfaction.
Need for rehab friend
So It's not just humans that indulge during the holiday season. Bohemian waxwing birds, native to the northern parts of North America and Eurasia, love to feast on berries from rowan trees, which ferment when the weather gets cooler, making alcohol. Most birds just get a little buzzed. But others don't know when to stop. Some are even "drunk flyers," which can unfortunately mean fatal crashes with buildings.
Last fall, several birds became so intoxicated that they had to be admitted to the animal healthcare unit in Yukon, Canada to sober up. Those that weren't able to recover, however, had to go to...yes...rehab, at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. Equipped with water and bedding, these small cages are kept dark and quiet to keep the birds safe until they recover.
The binge drinking friend
Conversely, you might want to invite animals that know how to handle their liquor (unlike some waxwings). The pen-tailed treeshrew is the world's heaviest drinker, hitting the "bars" of the rainforest every night in their native Malaysia. They spend about two hours per night – every night – boozing it up. Remarkably, they don't get inebriated, despite their small stature.It drinks fermented flower nectar pretty much constantly, and has been for millions of years. So as long as you don't challenge this animal to any drinking contests, it would make for a pretty great party guest.
Friends blessed with great alcohol tolerance
Just like birds, bats get drunk off fermented fruit. But unlike Bohemian waxwings, bats in Central and South America are able to handle their alcohol, along with plethora of caronaviruss. The highest blood alcohol content (BAC) that was tested in the bats was 0.3%. To put this in perspective, it's illegal to drive in the United States with a BAC of more than .08%.
The sneaky drinkers
Plenty of our primate cousins enjoy boozing it up, and some, like the vervet monkey at the shores of the Caribbean islands, have even graduated to stealing alcoholic beverages directly from people. Their drinking adventures have the same general cadence as human nights out: a couple fights here, trouble walking, and boom, passed out. Intriguingly, younger individuals were more likely to drink than older individuals, and most of the drinking was done by teenagers of both sexes. The older monkeys shun alcohol because of the stresses of monkey politics.In other words, at some point the monkeys leave their days of heavy drinking and hangovers behind and start acting like adults. Handing over a great argument to all the ladies out there to cut their husband's monkeying around.
Stoners are some of the coolest friends you’ll ever meet.
Dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures who will one day take over the world, so it's no surprise that they figured out a way to pass around a 'joint'.
Their narcotic of choice? The intoxicating pufferfish, whose poison is, according to Discover magazine, 50 million times more deadly than marijuana, 40,000 times more dangerous than meth, and more fatal than poison from the black widow. But rough-toothed dolphins live life on the edge. BBC documentary filmed the dolphins acting peculiar after the mammals had chewed and passed around a pufferfish. Towards the end of the encounter, several of the dolphins were observed lying motionless at the surface with their backs and the tops of their heads clearly visible.
Drunk Drivers
Getting a D.U.I. is probably one of the worst things to have on your driving record, but at least you're not a bee who was caught under the influence.
Bees can get drunk off fermented nectar, causing flying accidents. Some bees get so wasted they don't even remember how to get home. But, it's even more tragic for the bees that do manage to find their way back to the hive. Some hives impose severe penalties for bees caught flying under the influence – even going as far as attacking the poor, drunken bee.
Party Crashers
Each autumn, hordes of moose wander into unsuspecting towns, feast on fermented apples, and terrorize the locals. The Swedish press has documented plenty of drunken moose antics over the years. Some of their favorite habits include crashing parties, scaring schoolchildren, and falling into swimming pools.
Shrooming up Friends
There's two things you probably didn't know about Siberia: Reindeers and magic mushrooms are common. So, it's only natural that the animals would seek out magic mushrooms as a food source. Reindeers weren't the only mammals who enjoyed a short trip into outer space. Siberian tribesman loved shrooming it up, and may have been so high that they hallucinated reindeer "flying,"
In fact, our whole Santa Claus myth may have been derived from people and reindeer who were just stoned. Otherwise whoever heard of reindeer flying? I think it's becoming general knowledge that Santa is taking a 'trip' with his reindeer.
The throwing up friend
Now we always have someone in the group throwing up as a sign of closing hours for any party. In June 2018, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the largest animal welfare charity in the UK, received more than a dozen calls about drunken seagulls vomiting on southwest England beaches. The seagulls were described as disoriented, confused, and struggling to stand. The birds likely found access to waste from a local brewery or alcohol producer or might have gotten into the beer cans left on the nearby beaches.
The trouble maker friend
Residents of a West Virginia neighbourhood made several calls to the Milton Police Department about disoriented raccoons in November 2018. Locals believed that the raccoons might be sick with rabies. However, the police quickly discovered the real reason behind their strange behavior.
In this case, some crab apples had gone bad—or perhaps good from the raccoons’ perspective. The animals were absolutely wasted after eating the fermented crab apples. They caused enough concern in the neighbourhood for police to hold two raccoons in custody until they sobered up.
The Drunkest of the lot
The New Zealand pigeon, commonly called kereru in Maori, is endemic to the country and lives on both of the main islands. This pigeon has an unhealthy habit that has earned it the title “drunkest bird in New Zealand.” When rotten fruit becomes abundant during summers, these birds are known to fall from trees after consuming too much alcohol. Sometimes, the pigeons are taken to wildlife centers to sober up.
The Beginners
In 2015, the secretary of the Honeybourne Railway Club in Worcestershire, England, thought that somebody had broken in and ransacked the place. That was until the 62-year-old man saw the drunk culprit stagger out from behind a box of crisps. A squirrel had somehow found a way into the private members club and caused an estimated £300 in damages.
The rodent managed to fling itself onto the Caffrey’s Irish ale tap, drink some of the alcohol, and vandalize the club. According to the man, money and bottles were scattered around, several glasses and bottles were smashed, and the floor was covered in beer.
Meanwhile, the slow-moving squirrel tried to stay on its feet. The criminal was eventually caught in a waste paper bin and released through a window
Friends passing out
Last July a badger had to be taken to an animal shelter after it was found passed out on a beach in Poland, surrounded by seven empty beer bottles.The female badger, is believed to have stolen the bottles from beach-goers, and removed the caps with her teeth. She proceeded to down the lot, passing out on the beach in the Baltic seaside town of Rewal before being rescued and taken to a nearby animal shelter.
Friends prone to bad Hangover
In Australia, ‘drunken parrot season’ in Darwin produces dozens of apparently intoxicated red-collared lorikeets each year. Most of the birds can’t fly, have trouble walking straight, and can be sick for days. Local vets are at a loss to explain what’s making them so ill, but one likely factor is the abundance of fleshy fermenting fruit in northern Australia at this time of year.
Occasional Drinkers
Jaguars in the Amazon rainforest sometimes part from their meat-eating ways to gnaw on the bark of the hallucinogenic Yage vine (banisteriopsis caapi). It causes them to act strangely, similar to the way cats behave after they’ve had a taste of catnip. The vine is also used by Tukano Indians in a narcotic brew, which induces what they describe as ‘jaguar eyes.’
It's a seductive idea, isn't it? That other animals are as interested in getting as drunk and high as we are?Whether your sprit animal is a zebra finch, a fruit fly, a shrew, or an ostrich is a deeply personal and important matter. Whatever you end up with, have a happy weekend, and try not to end up in a hamster cage or a tree.
Leaving you with a Video of Marula Fruit Wild Animal party. Enjoy and cheers!
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