Scientists discover chimpanzees love partying with palm wine
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Party down, chimps.
A 17-year study of Guinea chimpanzees' drinking habits, now published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, reports that our closest primate cousins enjoy regular gatherings in raffia palm trees, where they tap into naturally fermented palm wine. Scientists recording the chimps' drinking habits found the animals often drink until showing "visible signs of inebriation," BBC News reports.
While there have been anecdotal reports of animals indulging in alcohol, this is the first study by scientists to actually record the amount consumed and regularity of the practice. Much like humans, the chimps varied in their drinking habits; some sipped, while others consumed the equivalent of a bottle of wine's worth of alcohol in one go. And at least one chimp displayed the same traits as That Guy Bothering Every Group At The Bar.
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"While other chimpanzees were making and settling into their night nests, (one male chimpanzee) spent an additional hour moving from tree to tree in an agitated manner," Dr. Kimberly Hockings, from Oxford Brookes University, told BBC.
No word in the study on whether the chimps employ bouncers for such unruly partiers.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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