Several non-human animal species are said to engage in apparent

recreational drug use Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

, that is, the intentional ingestion of

psychoactive A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...

substances in their environment for pleasure, though claims of such behavior in the wild are often controversial. This is distinct from

zoopharmacognosy Zoopharmacognosy is a behaviour in which non-human animals self-medication, self-medicate by selecting and Ingestion, ingesting or Topical medication, topically applying plants, soils and insects with medicinal properties, to prevent or reduc ...

, in which animals ingest or topically apply non-food substances for their health benefits, as a form of

self-medication Self-medication, sometime called do-it-yourself (DIY) medicine, is a human behavior in which an individual uses a substance or any exogenous influence to self-administer treatment for physical or psychological conditions, for example headaches or ...

Alcohol

Alcohol dehydrogenase class IV, or ADH4, first appeared in hominoids around 10 million years ago, around the time

Homininae Homininae (the hominines) is a subfamily of the family Hominidae (hominids). (The Homininae——encompass humans, and are also called "African hominids" or "African apes".) This subfamily includes two tribes, Hominini and Gorillini, both having ...

diverged into

hominins The Hominini (hominins) form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas), ...

and

gorillas Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

Chimpanzees

Common chimpanzees have been observed eating overripe breadfruit and sharing it with fellow members of their troop. While the observed fermented fruits contained anywhere from 0.01 to 0.61%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

, chimps mostly eat fruit; the effect is likely noticeable but not enough to bring them to inebriation, which would put them at greater risk of predation or bodily injury.

Vervet monkeys

Vervet drinking energy drink at Tshokwane

Some

vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus '' Chlorocebus''. The five distin ...

s in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, particularly teenaged individuals, exhibit a preference for

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

beverages over non-alcoholic ones, a taste which likely developed due to the availability of fermented

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

juice from local plantations. On

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

, these monkeys often raid bars and tourist beaches for alcoholic drinks, and become visibly inebriated. The proportions of the monkey population that do not drink, that drink in moderation, and that drink to excess mirror those proportions in humans.

Myths

Elephants

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n legends, recorded as early as the 1830s by naturalist

Adulphe Delegorgue Louis Adulphe Delegorgue (13 November 1814 – 30 May 1850) was a French explorer, hunter and naturalist who travelled in southern Africa in the 1840s and wrote about the region. Delegorgue was born to a farmer and mayor of Courcelles-lès-Lens ...

, describe

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s seeking out the

fermented Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

fruit of the marula tree, and showing signs of

intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine i ...

, including increased

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

, after doing so. This behavior was controversially depicted in the 1974 documentary ''

Animals Are Beautiful People ''Animals Are Beautiful People'' (also called ''Beautiful People'') is a 1974 South African nature documentary written, produced, directed, filmed and edited by Jamie Uys, about the wildlife in Southern Africa, presented with comedic elements ...

'': the crew of the film reportedly staged the scene, either by soaking the fruit in alcohol before allowing animals to eat it, or by simply injecting the animals with a veterinary

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

to elicit symptoms of intoxication. Studies have concluded that this is a

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. One of the studies instead attributed their aggression to the value of the trees as a food source. Yet it may be possible that another intoxicant is at play – elephants are also known to eat the

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

of the tree, which often contains toxic

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

pupae A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

Other intoxicants

Bees

A 2010 study from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

reported that bees prefer

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

containing

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

and

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

over that without, and suggested that this preference may be part of the

reward system The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and c ...

driving the mutualistic feeding behavior.

Cats

About 70% of domestic cats are attracted to, and affected by, the plant ''

Nepeta cataria ''Nepeta cataria'', commonly known as catnip and catmint, is a species of the genus ''Nepeta'' in the mint family, native plant, native to southern and eastern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is widely naturalis ...

'', also known as catnip. The plant also affects some wild cats, including tigers, though the percentage of these cats affected is unknown. Cats sniff, lick, and sometimes chew the plant, and may rub against it, with their cheeks and whole body, by rolling over it. If cats consume concentrated extract of the plant, they quickly show signs of overexcitement, including violent twitching, profuse salivation, and sexual arousal. The reaction is caused by volatile terpenoids called

nepetalactone Nepetalactone is a name for multiple iridoid Structural analog, analog stereoisomers. Nepetalactones are produced by ''Nepeta cataria'' (catnip) and many other plants belonging to the genus ''Nepeta'', in which they protect these plants from herbiv ...

s present in the plant. Although these are mildly toxic and repel insects from the plant, their concentration is too low to poison cats.

Dolphins

In 1995, the

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

Lisa Steiner reported that a group of

rough-toothed dolphin The rough-toothed dolphin (''Steno bredanensis'') is a species of dolphin that can be found in deep warm and tropical waters around the world. The species was first described by Georges Cuvier in 1823. The genus name ''Steno'', of which this spe ...

s near the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

were pushing around inflated

puffer fish Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, ...

and behaving lethargically. Puffer fish defensively excrete

tetrodotoxin Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an Order (biology), order that includes Tetraodontidae, pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Alt ...

, which might have been having an intoxicating effect on the dolphins. This behavior was also reported in the 2014 BBC documentary ''

Dolphins - Spy in the Pod A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

''. However, tetrodotoxin is not known to be

, and only produces

numbness Hypoesthesia or numbness is a common side effect of various medical conditions that manifests as a reduced sense of touch or sensation, or a partial loss of sensitivity to Sensory receptor, sensory stimuli. In everyday speech this is generally r ...

, tingling, and

lightheadedness Lightheadedness is a common and typically unpleasant sensation of dizziness or a feeling that one may faint. The sensation of lightheadedness can be short-lived, prolonged, or, rarely, recurring. In addition to dizziness, the individual may fee ...

in small doses, while in larger doses it is extremely toxic. For these reasons, marine biologist Christie Wilcox has expressed doubt that dolphins dose themselves with the toxin intentionally.

Lemurs

Black lemur The black lemur (''Eulemur macaco'') is a species of lemur from the family Lemuridae. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar. Originally, the species was thought to have two subspecies, ''Eulemur macaco macaco'' and ''Eulemur macaco flavi ...

s have been documented gently biting toxic

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...

s, which causes them to salivate, and then rubbing their saliva and the millipede secretions on their fur. The millipede toxins, including

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

and

benzoquinone Benzoquinone (C6H4O2) is a quinone with a single benzene ring. There are 2 (out of 3 hypothetical) benzoquinones: * 1,4-Benzoquinone, most commonly, right image (also ''para''-benzoquinone, ''p''-benzoquinone, ''para''-quinone, or just quinone) * ...

, are thought to act primarily as an

insect repellent An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray" or "bug deterrent") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellent ...

, protecting the lemurs from diseases such as

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, thus making this behavior a form of

. However, the toxins also appear to have a

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

effect on the lemurs, causing them to enter an apparently blissful state, which may serve as a reward for the behavior.

Wallabies

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

have been reported repeatedly entering commercial

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

fields, consuming the plants, and showing signs of intoxication.

References

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Atlas Obscura ''Atlas Obscura'' is an United States, American-based travel and exploration company. It was founded in 2009 by author Joshua Foer and documentary filmmaker/author Dylan Thuras. It catalogs unusual and obscure travel destinations via professiona ...

, date=January 29, 2016 , access-date=March 22, 2023 , archive-date=March 24, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324134127/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lemurs-get-high-on-their-millipede-supply , url-status=live {{cite news , title=Stoned wallabies make crop circles , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8118257.stm , access-date=March 22, 2023 , publisher=

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, date=June 25, 2009 , archive-date=March 22, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322201403/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8118257.stm , url-status=live {{cite web , last1=Cooke , first1=Lucy , title=Do moose (and other animals) eat fermented fruit to get drunk? , url=https://bigthink.com/big-think-books/do-moose-and-other-animals-eat-fermented-fruit-to-get-drunk/ , website=

Big Think Big Think is a multimedia web portal founded in 2007 by Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins. The site publishes interviews and round table discussions with experts from a wide range of fields. Victoria Brown is the acting CEO and Peter Hopkins is th ...

, access-date=April 4, 2023 , date=April 19, 2018 , archive-date=April 4, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404145035/https://bigthink.com/big-think-books/do-moose-and-other-animals-eat-fermented-fruit-to-get-drunk/ , url-status=live {{Cite episode , title= Peculiar Potions: Narcotic insecticide , url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zd3w2 , access-date= March 22, 2023 , series=

Weird Nature ''Weird Nature'' is a 2002 British documentary television series produced by John Downer Productions for the BBC and Discovery Channel. The series features strange behavior in nature—specifically, the animal world. The series now airs on TLC (T ...

, first= John , last= Downer , author-link= John Downer (filmmaker) , network=

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, publisher=

John Downer Productions John Downer (born 1952) is a British film producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is best known for his contributions to the nature documentary series ''BBC Wildlife Specials''. Education and career John Downer was born ...

, date= April 25, 2002 , series-no= 1 , number= 4 , minutes= , archive-date= March 22, 2023 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230322190420/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zd3w2 , url-status= live {{Cite episode , title= Peculiar Potions: Happy hour , url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zd535 , access-date= March 22, 2023 , series=

, first= John , last= Downer , author-link= John Downer (filmmaker) , network=

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, publisher=

, date= April 25, 2002 , series-no= 1 , number= 4 , minutes= , archive-date= March 22, 2023 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230322200404/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zd535 , url-status= live {{Cite episode , title= Episode 2 , url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pfwhk , series=

, first= John , last= Downer , author-link= John Downer (filmmaker) , network=

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

, publisher=

, date= January 7, 2014 , number= 2 , minutes= , access-date= March 23, 2023 , archive-date= November 18, 2021 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211118012128/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pfwhk , url-status= live {{cite news , last1=Goldman , first1=Jason G. , title=Do animals like drugs and alcohol? , url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140528-do-animals-take-drugs , access-date=March 22, 2023 , work=

BBC Future BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

, date=May 27, 2014 , archive-date=March 24, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324144130/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140528-do-animals-take-drugs , url-status=live {{cite journal , last1=Morris , first1=Steve , last2=Humphreys , first2=David , last3=Reynolds , first3=Dan , title=Myth, Marula, and Elephant: An Assessment of Voluntary Ethanol Intoxication of the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Following Feeding on the Fruit of the Marula Tree (Sclerocarya birrea) , journal=

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology ''Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The journal publishes original research examining funda ...

, date=April 2006 , volume=79 , issue=2 , pages=363–369 , doi=10.1086/499983 , pmid=16555195 , s2cid=36629801 , url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/499983 , access-date=March 22, 2023 , archive-date=March 22, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322193032/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/499983 , url-status=live , url-access=subscription {{cite book, isbn=978-1-59477-069-2, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6_nd2DZ-h-UC&pg=PA62, title=Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances , vauthors = Siegel RK , authorlink=Ronald K. Siegel , publisher=

, year=2005 {{cite journal , last1=Singaravelan , first1=Natarajan , last2=Nee'man , first2=Gidi , last3=Inbar , first3=Moshe , last4=Izhaki , first4=Ido , title=Feeding Responses of Free-flying Honeybees to Secondary Compounds Mimicking Floral Nectars , journal=

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, date=2005 , volume=31 , issue=12 , pages=2791–2804 , doi=10.1007/s10886-005-8394-z , pmid=16365705 , bibcode=2005JCEco..31.2791S , s2cid=13382917 , url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-005-8394-z , access-date=March 23, 2023 , archive-date=April 4, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404074637/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-005-8394-z , url-status=live , url-access=subscription {{cite web , last1=Theys , first1=Michael , title=Do African animals get drunk from marula fruit? Or is it a myth? , url=https://africafreak.com/marula-fruit , website=AfricaFreak.com , date=October 22, 2021 , access-date=April 4, 2023 , archive-date=April 4, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404143551/https://africafreak.com/marula-fruit , url-status=live {{cite news , last1=Umer , first1=Natasha , title=9 Animals That Get Drunk Or High , url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/natashaumer/9-animals-that-could-teach-us-something-about-drugs-and-alco , access-date=March 22, 2023 , work=

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

, date=December 16, 2014 , archive-date=April 4, 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404074637/https://www.buzzfeed.com/natashaumer/9-animals-that-could-teach-us-something-about-drugs-and-alco , url-status=live Ethology Psychoactive drugs

Alcohol

Chimpanzees

Vervet monkeys

Myths

Elephants

Other intoxicants

Bees

Cats

Dolphins

Lemurs

Wallabies

See also

Further reading

References