While researching sugar, I came across the idea that alcoholic fermentation occurs in fruit juice and sap. Yeast that ferments sugar appears to exist in many places in nature, and natural alcohol also appears to exist in many places. Apparently, some animals drink alcohol. It seems that humans are not the only ones who enjoy alcohol.
alcohol in nature
Alcohol appears to have first appeared about 130 million years ago, when fruit-bearing seed plants and a fungus called Saccharomyces appeared, which converted sugar into ethanol. The smell of ethanol tells us that there is a lot of sugar in a fruit, so species that can detect the smell of ethanol have an advantage. When the number of fermenting bacteria increases, other bacteria do not increase, so it may also be meaningful in that fruit is less likely to rot. It seems that fruit, palm nuts, and the sap of trees and bamboo can also be turned into alcohol.
Creatures that are weak or strong against alcohol
The alcohol content of natural fermentation is about 1% to 12%. Whether an animal can tolerate alcohol or not seems to depend on whether they have the enzymes to metabolize it, and elephants and dogs seem to be weak to alcohol. The heaviest drinkers in the animal kingdom are said to be hamsters, with the strongest livers, able to drink the equivalent of 21 bottles of wine for a human. In the animal kingdom, we need calories, but perhaps we don’t need to get drunk. Also, the Oriental hornet, which is said to generate electricity, is only slightly tipsy even with an 80% alcohol content.
Creatures that drink alcohol or drown their sorrows
In the natural world, animals have no choice but to develop a tolerance to alcohol, as food ripens and ferments, or is stored and ferments, but it seems that some creatures actually enjoy consuming it. Hamsters and other insects are attracted to fermented sap, and there are monkeys that like fermented fruit, and chimpanzees in particular are known to enjoy drinking alcohol.
Also, some creatures turn to alcohol to heal the pain of a broken heart, and male fruit flies who have experienced a broken heart seem to gulp down alcohol. Is there some mysterious commonality between these creatures?
Alcohol is amazing
Alcohol seems to be a natural phenomenon, and it’s found everywhere as long as there’s sugar and yeast, and it seems that living things have lived in association with alcohol. I’ve come to think that getting drunk is also related to emotions and the satisfaction of desires for living things. It seems to deviate from the hardline survival strategy, but overall it may be connected to the prosperity of species. Alcohol is amazing. The humor of the Earth is amazing.
