Scientists have discovered that wild chimpanzees consume fermented fruit containing alcohol, ingesting the equivalent of approximately one bottle of lager per day.
This finding supports the hypothesis that humans may have inherited their predilection for alcohol from common primate ancestors who relied on fermented fruit as a source of sustenance, providing both sugar and alcohol.
“The human attraction to alcohol likely stems from this ancestral dietary behavior shared with chimpanzees,” stated study researcher Aleksey Maro from the University of California, Berkeley.
While chimpanzees, like numerous other animal species, have been observed consuming overripe fruit on the forest floor, this study is the first to quantify the amount of alcohol they may be ingesting.
The research team measured the ethanol content in fruits, such as figs and plums, frequently consumed by wild chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda.
Based on their typical fruit consumption, the chimpanzees were found to ingest around 14 grams of ethanol daily – equivalent to nearly two UK units, or roughly one 330ml bottle of lager.
Notably, the fruits most commonly consumed were those with the highest alcohol content.
This research lends further credence to the “drunken monkey” hypothesis, which posits that the human desire for alcohol is an inherited trait from our primate ancestors.
This hypothesis was initially proposed by Professor Robert Dudley of the University of California, Berkeley, who also served as a co-researcher on the study.
While scientists were initially skeptical, more observations of “scrumping apes” have emerged in recent years, according to Professor Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews, who was not involved in the research.
“This work reveals that our relationship with alcohol extends far back into evolutionary history, potentially around 30 million years,” she told BBC News.
“Perhaps for chimpanzees, consuming fermented fruit is a means of fostering social bonds, allowing them to gather on the forest floor and share these fallen fruits.”
Dr. Kimberley Hockings, a primate researcher at the University of Exeter who was not involved in the study, emphasized that the chimpanzees in this study were not consuming enough alcohol to become intoxicated, which “would clearly not improve their survival chances.”
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, chimpanzees are classified as endangered, with habitat loss due to farming, logging, and infrastructure development posing the greatest threats to their survival.
The findings of this research have been published in the journal Science Advances.
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