Latest news with #KimberleyHockings
New York Post
26-04-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Monkeying around: Wild chimps caught on camera sharing boozy fruit
These chimps were a barrel of laughs. Wild chimpanzees in West Africa were caught on video for the very first time sharing fermented African breadfruit that contained ethanol. Researchers from the University of Exeter in England set up cameras at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau. The primates may have been using the alcohol like humans do, the team said in their report published in the science journal Current Biology. 'For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation,' ecologist Anna Bowland, lead author of the study, said in a report from the university. A research team from the University of Exeter set up the cameras, which caught the chimps sharing the alcoholic fruit. Anna Bowland / Cantanhez Chimpanzee Project / University of Exeter 'We also know that sharing alcohol – including through traditions such as feasting – helps to form and strengthen social bonds.' The creatures were filmed 10 times indulging in the boozy fruit, which contained 0.61% ABV [alcohol by volume], which is relatively low — so researchers concluded the chimps were unlikely to actually get drunk. The group is using the discovery to do further research into the animals' drinking habits and whether or not they are rooted in early evolutionary history. The creatures were filmed a total of 10 times indulging in the boozy fruit. Anna Bowland / Cantanhez Chimpanzee Project / University of Exeter 'Chimps don't share food all the time, so this behavior with fermented fruit might be important,' Dr. Kimberley Hockings, a researcher at the University of Exeter, said in the report. 'We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolize it, but this behavior could be the early evolutionary stages of feasting.'
NDTV
24-04-2025
- Science
- NDTV
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. — 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."
The Independent
22-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Chimpanzees seen eating alcohol-infused fruit for the first time, raising questions about evolution
Wild chimpanzees have been pictured eating and sharing alcohol -infused fruit for the first time, which researchers say raises questions around whether the animals actively seek out alcohol. The images were captured by cameras set up by academics from the University of Exeter in Cantanhez National Park - located in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau. Dr Kimberley Hockings, from the University of Exeter, said: "This behaviour could be the early evolutionary stages of 'feasting'." The researchers have also stressed the chimps are unlikely to get 'drunk' from the fermented African breadfruit, because it would "clearly not improve their survival chances".
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Party animals: Chimpanzees caught on camera sharing alcoholic fruit
April 22 (UPI) -- A team of British researchers studying chimpanzees in West Africa said they have documented the primates eating and sharing alcoholic fruit. The University of Exeter team said cameras set up at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau captured the chimps sharing fermented African breadfruit that was later confirmed to contain ethanol. The team's study suggests the chimpanzees could be using the alcohol for a similar purpose as humans who partake in intoxicating beverages. "For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation," Anna Bowland, from the university's Center for Ecology and Conservation, said in a news release. "We also know that sharing alcohol -- including through traditions such as feasting -- helps to form and strengthen social bonds," she said. "So -- now we know that wild chimpanzees are eating and sharing ethanolic fruits -- the question is: could they be getting similar benefits?" The researchers said it is notable that the chimps were documented sharing the fruits, rather than eating them alone. "Chimps don't share food all the time, so this behavior with fermented fruit might be important," researcher Kimberley Hockings said. "We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolism it, but this behavior 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."
Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Trail cams catch chimpanzees sharing fruit — with alcohol. See ‘boozy' encounter
In what is believed to be a world first, trail cameras in western Africa have filmed and photographed wild chimpanzees sharing fruit containing alcohol. But, was it intentional? The first-of-its-kind discovery has raised more questions than answers for researchers working in Guinea-Bissau's Cantanhez National Park, according to a study published April 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology. The team set up motion-activated trail cameras throughout the park to better study the feeding and sharing behaviors of wild chimpanzees. The chimpanzees in this park are 'unhabituated' to researchers, according to the study. 'Chimpanzees were seen to regularly select and feed on T. africana (African breadfruit) when available. Sharing was observed on 10 separate occasions between 17 individuals across all age- and sex-classes,' researchers said. 'At the time of sharing, 90% of the shared fruits contained ethanol.' African breadfruit contains ethanol when fermented, so the researchers tested the fruit to see just how 'boozy' it really was, according to an April 21 news release from the University of Exeter. When they calculated the fruit's alcohol by volume — the same measure used for alcoholic drinks — they found values up to 0.61% ABV, a 'relatively low' amount, according to the release. A single serving of beer is 12 ounces, for example, and has an ABV of 5%, while a typical 5 ounces of wine has a 12% ABV. The ABV in the booziest African breadfruit was similar to that in kombucha, a fermented tea drink, which can have about 0.5% ABV. 'But the researchers say it may be the 'tip of the iceberg', as 60-80% of chimps' diet is fruit — so low levels of alcohol in various foods could add up to significant consumption,' according to the release. The chimpanzees are, however, unlikely to get 'drunk' as it would be a significant hindrance to their survival chances, researchers said. 'Chimps don't share food all the time, so this behavior with fermented fruit might be important,' researcher Kimberley Hockings, from the University of Exeter, said in the release. 'We need to find out more about whether they deliberately seek out ethanolic fruits and how they metabolize it, but this behavior 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.' The tradition of drinking and sharing alcohol runs deep in human history, with beer possibly being made as far back as 13,000 years ago, according to 'For humans, we know that drinking alcohol leads to a release of dopamine and endorphins, and resulting feelings of happiness and relaxation,' lead author Anna Bowland, from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation with the University of Exeter, said in the release. '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?' Cantanhez National Park is in southern Guinea-Bissau, a country on the west-central coast of Africa. The research team includes Bowland, Hockings, Elena Bersacola, Marina Ramon, Joana Bessa, Amanda Melin, Matthew Carrigan and Xavier Harrison.
