Chimps consume the equivalent of two alcoholic drinks per day
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found chimpanzees eating fermented fruit in their native habitats consume the equivalent of nearly two alcoholic drinks per day.
The research team analyzed 21 species of fruit regularly eaten by chimps in Uganda and the Ivory Coast to measure the alcohol content.
The team drew on research by primatologists who found chimps each eat about 10 pounds of fruit every day, making up about 75% of their diet. The Berkely researchers approximated the proportions of each fruit in an average chimp’s diet to reach their conclusions.
“The chimps are eating 5 to 10% of their body weight a day in ripe fruit, so even low concentrations yield a high daily total — a substantial dosage of alcohol,” Robert Dudley, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology, said in the release.

A team from Britain’s University of Exeter revealed in April that cameras set up at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau captured chimps sharing fermented African breadfruit that was later confirmed to contain ethanol.
The researchers said the footage was notable because it could indicate the chimps were sharing alcohol as a social activity, similar to human behavior.
source: UPI
Vocabulary
to consume | fogyasztani |
equivalent | egyenértékű |
native habitats | természetes élőhelyek |
to measure | mérni |
primatologists | főemlőskutatók |
to approximate | megközelíteni (értéket) |
proportions | arányok |
to yield | eredményezni |
substantial dosage | jelentős adag |
release | hivatalos közlemény |
to reveal | felfedni |
breadfruit | kenyérfa |
to confirm | megerősíteni |
footage | filmfelvétel |
notable | figyelemre méltó |