For the first time, wild chimpanzees have been caught on camera eating and sharing fermented fruit that contains alcohol.
A research team led by the University of Exeter set up motion-activated cameras in Guinea-Bissau’s Cantanhez National Park and captured fascinating footage of chimps sharing pieces of African breadfruit that had naturally fermented and contained alcohol.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, is titled “Wild chimpanzees share fermented fruits.”
The findings could shed light on the deep evolutionary roots of human traditions like drinking and feasting.
It’s well known that in humans, drinking alcohol can trigger the release of chemicals in the brain like dopamine and endorphins, which make people feel happy and relaxed.
Sharing alcohol, such as during celebrations or feasts, also helps strengthen social bonds.
Now, scientists are asking if chimpanzees—our closest living relatives—might be getting similar benefits from sharing fermented fruits.
Anna Bowland from the University of Exeter’s Center for Ecology and Conservation explained that the study shows chimps sharing these “boozy” fruits on 10 different occasions. Tests confirmed that the fruit contained alcohol, with the highest level recorded at 0.61% ABV (alcohol by volume), which is quite low compared to human beverages.
However, since chimps eat a lot of fruit—making up about 60–85% of their diet—small amounts of alcohol could add up over time.
Researchers say it’s unlikely that chimps get drunk, as being impaired would make survival in the wild much harder. Still, the discovery raises interesting questions about how much alcohol they might actually be consuming in their everyday diet and what effects it might have on their behavior and metabolism.
Another intriguing part of the research is that chimpanzees don’t share food very often, so sharing these special fermented fruits could mean something more important is happening socially. Dr. Kimberley Hockings, another researcher on the project, suggested that this behavior might represent an early version of “feasting” in chimpanzees.
Previous studies have even found genetic clues that humans and African apes evolved a strong ability to process alcohol, hinting that eating fermented fruit might be a very ancient habit.
If so, this new discovery suggests that the human traditions of drinking and celebrating with food might have started long before modern humans even existed—deep in the shared history we have with chimpanzees.
