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Chimpanzees Drink 2.5 Human Drinks Daily, Study Finds

9/25/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers estimate chimpanzees in Uganda and Ivory Coast consume about 14 grams of ethanol daily from fermented fruit.
This equates to roughly 2.5 human drinks, based on ethanol measurements in 21 fruit types.
The findings support the drunken monkey hypothesis, but experts caution the study does not show regular drunkenness.

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Story summary

Researchers estimate chimpanzees in Uganda and Ivory Coast consume about 14 grams of ethanol daily from fermented fruit.
This equates to roughly 2.5 human drinks, based on ethanol measurements in 21 fruit types.
The findings support the drunken monkey hypothesis, but experts caution the study does not show regular drunkenness.