The people of Guinea in West Africa assemble in the crowns of raffia containers where milky juice flows. When are fermented, it is formed liquor. Mounted containers are quite large, because in a few weeks, one palm provides up to 50 liters of juice. The fermentation process itself is extremely fast and already within a few hours the collected juice turns to alcohol.
It turns out that not only people like myself sometimes something to drink. With free refreshments learned to use chimpanzees living in the area. To make it easier to get the juice, the monkeys use palm leaves. After chewing they become spongy and after immersion readily absorb liquid, which then suck monkey.
But this is not delicate beverage with low alcohol content as kefir or kvass. Scientists have studied the juice raffia and found that the alcohol content ranges therein from 3 to almost 7 percent. – It’s as strong beer.
Some chimps tend to abuse this drink, later showing signs of intoxication. It has been observed male who after consuming the drink began to behave restlessly, jumping and swinging on the branches of trees. There were also individuals who drink and sank into sleep. Of behavior in monkeys is therefore similar to that as can be observed after the consumption of alcohol in humans.
Chimpanzees referred to, they reside in the colony near the village of Bossou in Guinea. They are observed by scientists for over 17 years and has already happened to them amaze scientists. In 2008,. One of the chimps even hit the headlines, “caught” on fishing for ants with a stick. It was one of the first evidence that primates, which are our distant relatives, or they can use the tools.
During a dozen years, researchers have reported 51 cases of alcohol consumption by chimpanzees. Sometimes the monkeys consumed alcohol alone, but more often it was the collective consumption. Usually binge began in the morning and ended in the evening. Interestingly, monkeys do not they asked themselves too much trouble when searching for leaves to chew, to then dip them in the juice of raffia. Mostly they were listed, which people covered their containers to collect the juice.
The observations seem to confirm the theory that humans and apes share a genetic ability to break down alcohol in the body. It was created about 10 million years ago and confirms that we share a common ancestor. This mutation can metabolize ethanol 40 times more efficiently than other animals. It is possible that metabolize alcohol allowed our ancestors to easier access to food. They could thus provide the body with nutrients by eating fermented fruit found in the woods under the trees.
The study, whose main author was Dr. Kimberley Hockings of Oxford Brookes University, was published in the “Royal Society Open Science”.
Source: “The Guardian”
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