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It would be naïve to assume that only humans get intoxicated. Whether from sweet fermenting fruit, magic mushrooms, or coca leaves, getting high has existed since the beginning of animal life. Indeed, animals have long discovered nature's mind-altering substances.
Want to know more? Then check out the following gallery for examples from around the world of intoxication in animals.
Bats in Central and South America regularly eat fermenting fruits, but unlike most animal species, they're able to hold their liquor. A 2009 study by Canadian biologists found that bats in Belize could fly and use their built-in sonar while drunk.
They tested 106 bats, some sober and some with blood-alcohol contents that would exceed legal limits for people. However, they found little difference in their performance.
Native to Africa, wild boars dig up the roots of tabernanthe iboga, a narcotic plant that they end up eating. After consuming these roots, boars will jump around erratically.
In the summer heat, nectar sometimes ferments, leading to an alcoholic substance, which bees consume. This makes them among nature’s hardest drinkers.
Aside from alcoholic nectar, bees are also known for favoring nectar that contains nicotine and caffeine over nectar that doesn't contain either.
There's nothing like watching the effects of catnip on a cat. Making them roll, flip around, and eventually zone out, catnip is very much like a drug for cats.
Elephants are another animal that really can't hold their liquor. African elephants get drunk off the fermenting fruit of the Marula tree. This is also the fruit used to make the creamy liquor Amarula.
And elephants don't need much booze to get drunk. Like many other mammals, scientists have found that they're exceptional lightweights because they lack a key enzyme that quickly metabolizes ethanol.
Amongst the most intelligent animals, dolphins have discovered a clever way to get intoxicated. They do this by chewing on a puffer fish that releases toxins when threatened.
While a large amount of these toxins could be deadly, dolphins know when to stop, which makes it less dangerous for them compared to other animals.
Vervet monkeys on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts have a long history with alcohol. They once devoured fermented sugar cane grown by the rum industry. But now they even steal cocktails from tourists!
Studies of their behavior have found their drinking habits are similar to those of people. Most drink in moderation, but around 12% drink heavily and 5% drink excessively—only a small group reject alcohol altogether.
Due to their long consumption of alcohol, vervet monkey have developed a higher tolerance compared to other animals. Similar to rebellious human teenagers, young monkeys drink more than adults.
Native to Tasmania, wallabies are famed for hopping and falling around local poppy fields, which ends up leaving them high as a kite.
Tasmania is the world’s largest producer of legally grown opium for the pharmaceutical industry. And when food is scarce, the wallabies survive by eating the plant’s intoxicating heads.
Dogs don't intentionally get high, but when they do, it's because of food and other items left behind by humans. For example, vets have reported a lot of cases of dogs accidentally consuming illicit drugs in edible form. In these cases, chocolate, butter, and oil are more dangerous to a dog than the drug.
Living in the Canadian Rockies, bighorn sheep will go to great lengths to find a rare narcotic lichen that grows in green and yellow patches on uncovered rock surfaces.
After scraping the rock with their teeth to remove and eat the rare lichen, they'll appear ill or a bit mad. Usually a social species that doesn’t stray far from the herd, bighorn sheep will deviate from their usual migration routes for this stuff.
The caterpillar larvae, found in Peru and Colombia, feeds exclusively on coca plants. Most insects avoid the bush, which is the raw ingredient of cocaine, because it can make them severely ill or kill them. However, research has found that caterpillars are completely resistant to the drug.
Lemurs will chew on millipedes that use dangerous secretions to ward off insects. The toxin makes them slobber, putting them in a trance-like state.
Jaguars in the Amazon rain forest sometimes chew on the bark of the hallucinogenic Yage vine. This makes them act strangely, just like cats after they've had a taste of catnip.
The vine is also used by the indigenous Tucano people in narcotic brews. The brew induces what they describe as "jaguar eyes."
Reindeer in Siberia deliberately seek the hallucinogenic and highly toxic Amanita muscaria mushroom. The bright red mushrooms are considered poisonous and can cause dizziness in humans.
Biologists have documented reindeer getting so high that they run around aimlessly, making strange noises, and twitching their heads.
All kinds of birds enjoy the buzz that comes with feeding on fermented fruit. However, just like driving under the influence is dangerous for humans, so is flying under the influence for birds.
Drunk birds often lose their ability to orient themselves, control their speed, and stop. This leads to fatal accidents when birds drunkenly crash into buildings.
In 2006, around 40 songbirds were found dead in Vienna, Austria. Postmortems showed their bellies were full of berries and their necks were broken after crashing into windows.
Hedgehogs are attracted to the slime left behind by slugs. A poison that contains metaldehyde, it will leave hedgehogs completely intoxicated.
Another animal that gets intoxicated are fruit flies. Studies have shown that male fruit flies seek out alcohol when mates have rejected them.
Sources: (National Geographic) (Australian Geographic)
See also: The deadliest animals on the planet
Animals known for getting intoxicated out in nature
Some creatures love to get tipsy much like humans
LIFESTYLE Animal kingdom
It would be naïve to assume that only humans get intoxicated. Whether from sweet fermenting fruit, magic mushrooms, or coca leaves, getting high has existed since the beginning of animal life. Indeed, animals have long discovered nature's mind-altering substances.
Want to know more? Then check out the following gallery for examples from around the world of intoxication in animals.