🔗 Share this article Apes Ingesting an Amount Equal of an Alcoholic Beverage Per Day from Ripe Fruit, Research Shows Analyzing further insights into food consumption of primates may clarify human attraction to fermented drinks Free-ranging apes were discovered to take in the equivalent of the alcohol content in one lager daily from eating ripened fruit, per experts. Researchers believe this supports the idea that our species may have gotten a preference for fermented beverages from common primate ancestors who relied on fermented fruit – a provider of sugars and ethanol – for nourishment. "People's fondness to fermented drinks probably arose from such nutritional ancestry of the mutual forebear with chimpanzees," said a research scientist. Chimpanzees, as with various other creatures, were spotted eating fermented fruits resting upon the woodland soil, but here is the initial investigation to precisely measure how significant ethanol they could be taking in. Study Approach Scientists quantified the quantity of drinkable alcohol in produce for example figs and plums eaten in significant amounts by chimpanzees in parts of Africa. Using the quantity of produce they normally eat, the apes were taking in around 14g of ethanol – comparable with nearly two alcohol measures, or approximately a single 330ml bottle of lager. The fruits most frequently eaten were those with the most booze concentration. These items are an important component of the nutrition for numerous apes, like great apes The 'Drunken Monkey' Theory This study provides evidence to the so-called "tipsy primate" idea – the concept that the human appetite for alcohol was acquired from our primate ancestors. This was first proposed in the past by a professor who acts as a co-researcher on the project. Researchers were originally hesitant. But additional sightings of "fruit-eating primates" have been recorded in recent times, stated by an ape expert unaffiliated with the investigators. "The insight we gain from such research is that the connection with alcohol extends far back into our evolutionary past, perhaps around thirty million years," commented."It's possible for apes, this is a useful strategy to strengthen connections, to hang out together on the ground, eating those fallen fruits." Wild chimpanzees in parts of Africa are at risk from deforestation and environmental shifts Important Caveats It was important to note that the primates in the investigation were not taking in a high enough dose to become drunk. Had they done so, "this would clearly harm their survival chances," said a different scientist. The species are now at risk, and the primary dangers they face include destruction of their woodland environments to farming, deforestation and construction. This study is published in a scientific journal.