Jungle Juice: Chimps Caught in the Wild With a Fruity Buzz

Wild chimpanzees in African forests could be experiencing a mild daily buzz—without even knowing it. A new study led by researchers from UC Berkeley reveals that the fruit chimpanzees regularly eat naturally ferments and contains low levels of alcohol.

Over three research seasons in Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire, scientists collected and analyzed fruit samples commonly consumed by wild chimps, such as figs and small plum-like fruits. Their findings showed that these fruits typically contain around 0.3% alcohol by weight—about the same as kombucha.

Given that an average chimpanzee weighs around 90 pounds and eats roughly 10 pounds of fruit per day, researchers estimate the animals are consuming the equivalent of about 14 grams of ethanol daily. That’s roughly on par with two standard human cocktails, according to CBS News.

Despite this alcohol intake, the chimps don’t appear to show signs of intoxication. To actually get drunk, they’d need to consume much more fruit than normal. Instead, researchers believe the apes experience only a mild, continuous effect from the fermented fruit.

The study, published in Science Advances, supports the “drunken monkey” hypothesis first proposed by UC Berkeley professor Robert Dudley. He suggests that the human attraction to alcohol may stem from our primate ancestors, who evolved to seek out ripened, energy-rich fruit—some of which naturally ferments and contains ethanol.

While previous reports have noted primates and even elephants consuming fermented fruits in the wild, this is the first study to provide direct chemical measurements of the alcohol content in fruits eaten by wild chimpanzees, as noted by the BBC.

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