Symbolic photo
(Penny Olsen, Australian National University) Canberra: Till now you have seen many drunken people, but today we are going to tell you a news that will blow your mind. It is said that many people consume alcohol to increase their excitement and for fun. But when animals and birds also start doing the same thing, it becomes very difficult to believe. But in Australia, many such drunken parrots have been caught who are alcoholics. These drunken parrots have also been caught consuming alcohol to increase their excitement and for fun. The scientists doing research on them are also surprised by the incident of parrots and some other birds becoming alcoholics.
Scientists have found that many birds including parrots get intoxicated by eating fermented fruits and berries to increase their excitement and have fun. Some parrots and birds get intoxicated by alcohol. Their intoxicated state is often known when they collide with windows or cars while swaying in intoxication or are caught by cats in an unconscious state. Not only this, many birds suffering from alcohol poisoning are unable to fly properly and they start rolling around drunkenly anywhere.
Drug addicted parrots have been caught in Australia
Such drunken and drugged parrots have often been caught in Australia. In the year 2021 also, about half a dozen parrots were caught, which were completely drunk. They were red-winged parrots. Who got drunk after eating overripe mangoes. According to scientists, alcohol starts forming in overripe mangoes. After being caught, these drunken parrots were handed over to the Broome Veterinary Hospital in Western Australia. Other drunken parrots and birds in such numbers never reached the clinic. The Kereru bird is also very drunk. Due to its drunken reputation, it was voted as New Zealand’s Bird of the Year in 2018. This pigeon is known to sometimes get drunk, even falling from trees.
Where do you get alcohol from
All these drunken parrots and pigeons are the butt of jokes as party animals, but such behaviour has a deeper evolutionary context, according to scientists. As fruit ripens, it becomes sweeter and more nutritious. As it ripens further, its sweetness (sugar) begins to ferment and the concentration of alcohol increases. Volatile compounds (alcohols) produced during fermentation can waft into the air, helping birds locate a rich food source. Ethanol is also a source of energy in itself and stimulates appetite. Fruit eaters, including birds, our human ancestors and other animals, may have come to associate the presence of ethanol with sugar cravings and mild pleasure. In turn, fruit eaters reward fruit or nectar-producing plants by spreading seeds or facilitating cross-pollination.
Many birds are addicted to alcohol like humans
This evolutionary explanation of the attraction to alcohol is sometimes known as The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, first suggested by American biologist Robert Dudley. Eat, drink and be merry While some birds are keen drinkers, it seems most can handle their alcohol. Like humans, their central nervous systems may respond well to moderate alcohol consumption, making them feel less tired, more relaxed and sociable. Such pleasure-seeking may seem like an evolutionary dead-end, but nature generally attempts to limit the availability of alcohol. Stimulation is mild and cases of extreme intoxication are the exception.
Many drunk birds die after drinking alcohol
As with humans, many alcoholic birds die from excess alcohol. The latter often occurs in situations where fruit is plentiful, other food is scarce or conditions produce an unusually high sugar content, which when fermented produces an extra-potent brew. Often, those who die from alcoholism are young birds. It may seem uncomfortable to compare green parrots rubbing aromatic vegetation off their feathers to drunken pigeons falling from trees. But nature rewards behaviour that provides an evolutionary advantage, often by tapping into animals’ pleasure centres. Pleasure seeking is an important, often overlooked, aspect of animal behaviour that deserves attention and further research. (The Conversation)
Latest World News