Chimpanzees have been spotted eating and sharing an alcoholic fruit in the wild for the first time, leaving scientists perplexed about why the primates would deliberately seek such a diet.
Motion-activated cameras set up by researchers in the Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau captured the footage of chimpanzees sharing fermented African breadfruit, known to contain ethanol, on 10 separate occasions. This peculiar behaviour may offer chimpanzees the benefits of social bonding, not unlike in humans, the researchers note in a study published in the journal Current Biology.
