Researchers measured ethanol levels in fruits eaten by wild chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda and estimated chimps ingest around 14 grams of alcohol per day—roughly a small bottle of lager. The fruit types chimps preferred had the highest ethanol levels, indicating selective foraging for mild fermentation. This puts numbers to the long‑standing 'drunken monkey' hypothesis.
— Quantifying routine primate ethanol exposure grounds evolutionary explanations for human alcohol attraction, informing how we frame prevention and policy.
Tyler Cowen
2025.09.21
92% relevant
Item #6 cites UC Berkeley researchers finding wild chimpanzees consuming the equivalent of nearly two alcoholic drinks per day, directly aligning with the quantified ethanol‑intake result for chimps.
Sara Kiley Watson
2025.09.19
94% relevant
The article summarizes a Science Advances study showing wild chimps consume about 14 grams of ethanol per day by eating fermenting fruits (~0.26% alcohol), directly matching the idea’s quantified estimate and method (field sampling of chimp‑eaten fruits).
msmash
2025.09.17
100% relevant
Study estimating ~14g ethanol/day from figs and plums consumed by wild chimps, reported by BBC and UC Berkeley’s Aleksey Maro.