Vervet monkeys on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean have developed a taste for alcohol. The monkeys were originally brought to the islands some 300 years ago and first got the thirst for alcoholic libations by eating fermented sugar cane left in the fields.
Today, the monkeys satisfy their need for a constant ‘hair of the dog’ by sneaking into the various resorts and stealing the alcoholic beverages of tourists.
The BBC Worldwide News special found that, similar to humans, some monkeys are teetotalers, others prefer a bit of social drinking and a small percentage will do anything to satisfy their craving for alcohol and will go on a bit of a binge.
Even though the video is humorous, the monkeys taste for alcohol has resulted in more than 1000 Vervet monkeys on St. Kitts being caged and tested in an experiment looking for clues to the nature of human drinking and to discover whether some people have a hereditary disposition to alcoholism - or "alcohol genes" according to the Telegraph UK.
Via Telegraph UK
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