Video: Wild Chimps Share Boozy Fruit, Hinting At Alcohol-Fuelled Social Bonding
In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Exeter have documented wild chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau's Cantanhez National Park consuming and sharing fermented African breadfruit (Treculia africana). This behaviour, captured on motion-activated cameras over ten separate occasions, marks the first recorded instance of wild chimpanzees engaging in the communal consumption of naturally alcoholic food.
The findings lend support to the "drunken monkey hypothesis", which posits that the attraction to fermented fruit provided evolutionary advantages by offering high-energy food sources.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, opens new avenues for understanding the evolutionary origins of social drinking and the role of naturally occurring ethanol in primate social systems.
Watch the video here:
Zoologists have captured for the first time a "drinking session" of chimpanzees
The primates found a quiet spot and shared fermented breadfruit with each other. Yes, it contains alcohol. pic.twitter.com/aYqF8VoswR
— Based & Viral (@ViralBased) April 22, 2025
"For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation," said Anna Bowland from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
"We also know that sharing alcohol - including through traditions such as feasting - helps to form and strengthen social bonds.
"So - now we know that wild chimpanzees are eating and sharing ethanolic fruits - the question is: could they be getting similar benefits?"
The researchers used motion-activated cameras, which filmed chimps sharing fermented fruits on 10 separate occasions.
"Chimps don't share food all the time, so this behaviour with fermented fruit might be important," said Dr Kimberley Hockings, also from the University of Exeter.
"We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolise it, but this behaviour could be the early evolutionary stages of 'feasting'.
"If so, it suggests the human tradition of feasting may have its origins deep in our evolutionary history."
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