Drinking alcohol isnot just ahuman thing. Animals have unknowingly been taking a sip of alcohol for centuries,sippingitfrom fruits and grains containing ethanol, a form of alcohol producedbythe fermentation of sugars. Published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, thestudy revealed that animals worldwide regularly experience alcohol through their diet.

How do animals end up ingesting alcohol?

Ethanol isgenerated in rotting fruits asyeasts ferment sugars on the surface of the fruit from the air. Such fruits, smellinglike beer or wine, can have 1-2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV),similarto low-alcohol beers or kombucha. The ABV,however, can befar higher:decayingpalm fruits in Panama have measuredover 10 percent ABV, similar to wine.

According to the study, observed by the University of Exeter behavioral ecologist and senior author KimberleyHockings, “Ethanol is not just something that humans use."

Alcohol-producing fruits have existed asfar back as nearly 100 million years ago, thatis way back in the late Cretaceous period. Therefore, ethanol-bearing plants existed when the Tyrannosaurus rex,dinosaurs,dominated Earth.

Thoughintoxicationmightbethereasonmansearches for alcohol, animals arenotthatclever. Even a veryminimal amount of alcohol makesthemunstable, whichmay land them in somehazardous situations.

"It is not advantageous to be inebriated as you’re climbing around in the trees or surrounded by predators at night—that’s a recipe for not having your genes passed on,” noted coauthor Matthew Carrigan, a molecular ecologist at the College of Central Florida.

While humans often drink to get intoxicated without necessarily needing the calories, it’s quite the opposite for animals. "Animals want the calories but not the inebriation," he explained. Over time, many animals have even evolved genes that help them break down ethanol quickly, allowing them to gain the benefits of these calorie-dense fruits without the downsides of inebriation.

Do animals reallydrink alcohol?

Eventhough the researchindicatesthat animalsdonottry to becomeintoxicated, it stillsuggests that they may consume it unknowingly or even desire the effect. Whether animals are attracted to ethanol for its effects or simply consume it incidentally remains uncertain.

Thisbreaks away from thisold,ancient assumption of ethanol consumption being a solely human affair, instead showcasing a much more ancient interaction between animals and alcohol in the natural world.